Hollywood CA

On 31 December 2012 Phish opened their final show of the year with a cover of Ricky Nelson’s 1972 hit “Garden Party.” A song Nelson had originally written after being booed off that same Madison Square Garden stage during the 1971 Rock ‘n Roll Revival Show, it was a fitting nod to the place Phish found themselves in both musically, artistically, and personally at the onset of their 30th year. Highlighted by the line, “You can’t please everyone, so you’ve got to please yourself,” the song would not only serve as a tongue-in-cheek jab at some of the more impatient members of Phish’s sprawling fan base, but would become something of a rallying cry for the band as they embarked upon their 30th year together as a collective unit.

Throughout 2013, the message of “Garden Party” felt ever-present, as the band sought to craft a six-month-long celebration of everything that had come to define Phish since 1983. In the summer, they emerged from hibernation with an overtly old school, foundational-setting run of shows from 07/03 – 07/21. Beaming with confidence, they went on to poke fun at their more obsessive fans in Chicago’s, ‘Poster Nutbag, the right way’“Harpua,” before crafting one of their seminal pieces of extended improve in the “Tahoe Tweezer” just ten days later. Friday night at Dick’s was once again devoted to gimmickry, this time as the band informed us that Most Shows Spell Something (Backwards). The Fall Tour that followed was a non-stop dance party with a signature throwback feel. And on Halloween the band debuted their new album – tentatively titled Wingsuit – in a move that has had the entire Phish community buzzing with thoughts and analysis ever since. Closing out the year with one more celebratory gag, Phish played an entirely coverless NYE Run, honoring the songs that had brought them so much acclaim throughout the years. Without question, 2013 was defined in large part by Phish’s desire to “please themselves” – without any regrets – in commemoration of everything they’d built (and rebuilt) since their college days.

What’s more though, was how “Garden Party” worked as a premonition for a band seeking to do more than simply garnish their 30th year with a nostalgic hue. Rather, 2013 saw Phish acutely pivot towards the next phase of their career. For, as much as 2013 was indeed about celebrating the essence of Phish – and their legacy – it was in many ways, more so about what’s next for a band that has systematically rebuilt itself from near-death, and now, at the onset of their 31st year, is in the midst of their most substantial peak period since the halcyon days of 1993-1998.

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Let’s pause for a moment, and take a step back to July 2010. At that point Phish had been back together for 17 months. Throughout they’d compiled four 10-15 show tours, alongside three, smaller, holiday-based/reunion runs. There’d been nights where they’d felt like Phish again. Nights where everything clicked: where they told jokes, where they pulled oft-forgotten songs out of nowhere, where their setlists flowed with precision, determination, and ease, and where they hooked up for extended pieces of forward-thinking, emotive, and ultimately revealing improv. But for all of the positivity that surrounded the 70 shows that had thus far made up Phish 3.0, there was a prevailing fear throughout much of their fan base that, perhaps, the band simply didn’t have it anymore. Too often they’d follow a breakthrough show with a run of unfocused and disconnected duds. Too many jams either followed a strict formula of assaulting rock -> rhythmic breakdown -> ambient fade, or would be cut off prematurely by Trey’s insistence on keeping the show moving. Too many shows featured a band that, simply put, appeared a shell of its former self. During the month-long break in Summer 2010, many openly wondered what would become of Phish 3.0?

Would they follow the same trajectory of their haunting and ultimately unsustainable 2.0 era; fading unfulfilled, full of regret, bemused with far more questions than answers?

Had Phish become (gasp) a nostalgia act?

Could they reestablish the unspoken communication that had led them to so many musical and artistic heights throughout their heyday?

Would they ever again evolve with the kind of abstract precision and focused experimentation that saw them transform from a psychedelically-infused speed-jazz quartet in 1993 to a spacious, patient, rhythmic juggernaut just five years later?

Could they do it again?

From the vantage point of January 2014 we know what happened. Barring a few setbacks along the way – parts of June 2011 and NYE 2011, most notably – when Phish reemerged for the second leg of their 2010 Summer Tour, they were a fundamentally different band. Since then they’ve been on a consistent upward trajectory, evolving with patient determination, overcoming many of the challenges set in front of them in 2009, and undoubtably blowing away even the headiest expectations any of us could have had for them when they announced their reunion back on 1 October 2008.

Beginning in earnest with the infusion of Trey’s Ocedoc – a move that systematically rounded-out his tone, resulting in him taking a more deliberate approach to building simple melodic lines, while also focusing more on rhythm – Phish has evolved with stunning speed over these past four years. Stylistically morphing – from the melodic jams of late-2010 to August 2011’s dive into the storage shed, to the cubist approach of 2012 – and further deepening their communication, they have consistently driven forward from the moment the Greek “Cities” dropped into its infectious whole-band groove-jam. A reflection of their own musical maturity and craftsmanship – and also the experience they’d gained from 25-years of friendship and collaboration – from August 2010 onwards, each tour has provided crucial reference points to Phish’s current peak. Be it the improvisational boon of August 2010; the self-referential gimmickry and humor of Fall 2010; June 2011’s experimentation & embrace of potential failure over conservatism; “The Storage Jam” and the darkness that engulfed many of their subsequent jams throughout August and September 2011; the 200-song challenge of June 2012; the fully-realized, multi-layered jams of August 2012; or the masterful run of creativity and exploration that was Dick’s and MSG 2012; there’s no denying the fact that following their initial – and necessary – 18-month rebuilding project, the Phish of late-2010-2013 in many ways mirrors the same band that rose from irrelevancy in the early-1990’s to become one of the largest, and most influential, creative forces in the country.

The only difference now: they are clearly wizened by their years. Trials & errors, fights, audits, drugs, failures, fuck-ups, youthful bliss, et al, behind them, the Phish of today is both healthy, happy, and inspired. Whereas in 2009 many wondered if such a “family-friendly” version Phish could muster up the kind of psychedelic expansionism and unadulterated experimentation that had drawn so many to them in the first place, it’s clear now that this version of Phish may not only match the creative ingenuity of their initial peak, but could in fact surpass their former selves in both musical discovery, and artistic sustainability.

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All of which brings us to 2013.

Beginning the year with a three-week foundational setting period, Phish toured the East Coast, fairing off torrential rains, all the while focusing on a tight rotation of songs which emphasized the original artistic statements of their career. Determined to perfect the whole-show-craftsmanship that had reemerged in Fall 2010, Phish used their first night at SPAC to send a message that 2013 would be more about patiently crafting complete shows rather than simply expanding upon big jams. Resulting in thematic concert experiences, the tour required noticeably more patience, reflection, and insight from their fans than the overtly jam-heavy August 2011, or bustout-driven June 2012 tours had. From 07/10’s “Maria” set, to 07/12’s “practicing safe music,” to Merriweather Post’s old-school affair, to 07/16’s “Heartbreaker” set to the existential masterpiece of 07/21’s second set, this first leg of the tour saw the band further advance their artistic intentions, while still infusing more than enough highlights to satisfy everyone in their fan base.

Following a five-day break, they reemerged at the Gorge intent on celebrating every aspect of their musical past, while systematically using each previous peak as a building block towards their next era. The rain behind them, comfortable enough to expand upond the strict rotation that had marked their entire East Coast run, rarities returned, jams popped, and the band played with an ease that could only result from the kind of foundational setting they’d initiated. From 07/26’s explosion of howlin’ energy, to 07/27’s album-like fluidity, to 07/30’s dance-party, to the methodical brilliance of the Tahoe “Tweezer,” to 08/02 and 08/04’s schizophrenic mind-fuck, by summer’s end Phish left no doubt in anyone’s mind that they’d not only coursed out their 30th year exactly as they’d intended to, but that they knew the “right way” forward for their creative evolution.

At Dick’s they keyed us in once more to their goals for the year by noting on 08/30 that “Most Shows Spell Something.” That they unveiled the gag backwards only lent itself more to their playful spirit and the multitude of angles with which one could approach understanding their music.

And then, as with 2010, Phish scheduled a two-week Fall Tour through some of the most historic – and smallest – venues within their home base of the Northeast. Needing no time to reacquire their bearings, it was clear from the jubilant jam that emerged from “Carini” on the tour’s opening night, that Phish had, once again, reached yet another level of unspoken communication and refined musicianship. Be it jams – “Carini,” “Ghost,” “Tweezer,” “Golden Age,” “Down With Disease,” “Twenty Years Later,” “Drowned,” “Light,” “Twist,” each built into fully-formed, innovative, and memorable excursions – or shows – 10/20, 10/23, 10/25, 10/26, 10/27, and 11/01 are some of the strongest complete shows the band has played since the 90’s – the band was completely locked-in throughout the Fall, and consistently able to tap into an vast wealth of creativity. At times one wished the band would simply have an off night to give fans re-listening, and avidly discussing, a chance to catch-up and breathe.

On Halloween the band once again repelled against expectations. Whereas traditionally they’d used the holiday to don a musical costume of one of their forbearers, here, in their 30th year, they instead used the moment to debut 12 new originals. Loosely dubbed Wingsuit, the second set of 10/31 represented yet another leap forward for this 3.0 incarnation of Phish. Like the Greek Run in 2010, the Storage Jam, and FUCK YOUR FACE before it, Wingsuit is a clear break between one era and another. Cultivated from various jams over the past two years, and containing some of the most advanced and deeply personal lyrics of the band’s career, the songs – and the symbolic nature behind their unveiling – provide the band with the necessary material and inspiration to enter the next phase of their remarkable career.

Closing out the year, once again, with four shows at Madison Square Garden in New York City the band honored their 30th Anniversary by focusing on the singular element that birthed their existence: their songs. Opting to only play originals, the four shows took on much of the same vibe that had marked the entire year. Nostalgically rich, yet full of forward-thinking jams in “Steam,” “Down With Disease -> Carini,” “Chalk Dust Torture,” and “Light,” the 2013 NYE Run both celebrated everything that has made Phish such a unique force in modern pop culture, and pointed the way towards their next thirty years.

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As with 2009 (Part I & Part II), 2010, 2011, & 2012 I’ve assembled a list of ten shows and jams that standout as the best of the year. Along with these selections, there are three honorable mentions to each. These are not simply shows/jams 11-13, but rather foundational jams and shows with which the band grew, yet didn’t crack my top ten. The lists are assembled chronologically, thus reserving the title “Best Ever” as a subjective accolade. Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season! Happy New Year! Can’t wait to see what 2014 brings to the world of Phish!

The Best Of Phish 2013

Honorable Jams

“Down With Disease -> 2001” – Toronto, ON – 07/22/2013

After kicking off the summer with three fairly contained versions of one of their most cherished Set II Openers, Phish finally broke through in Toronto with a jam that built off of their pivotal second set on 07/21, thus pointing the way westward. Featuring patiently built melodic and rhythmic riffs from Trey throughout, the jam ultimately settled on a remarkably pleasant platitude, which felt entirely composed. A direct prelude to jams like the 10/23 “Twist,” 10/26 “Drowned,” 10/27 “Tweezer,” and 11/01 “Twist,” this “DWD” is not only one of the key, foundational jams of 2013, but it is also the kind of jam one could listen to on repeat without ever growing tired.

In short, this is simply one of the most enjoyable, and pleasing jams of the entire year. A section of wholly deliberate, rising melodic playing followed the Trey/Page melodic peak, ultimately giving way to a full-on tease of “Sea Of Love” from The National. Further proof of how much musical insight Trey has gained from his time spent listening to – and playing with – those in the indie rock world. Building towards a truly patient segue into “2001” rounded off one of the most subtly diverse jams of the year, one that clearly helped to initiate the band’s massive peak over the next four months. While this jam has become significantly overshadowed in the past four months, its influence on the stylistic evolution of 2013 cannot go unnoticed.

“Harry Hood” – Hollywood, CA – 08/05/2013

There’s that moment in every single jam where everyone – band and audience alike – collectively realizes we’re suddenly in wide open, untapped, and unknown terrain. It may come via a reliable Set II opening vehicle, or in a totally unexpected song/slot in the show. Wherever and whenever it comes, the moment is ultimately defined by an immediate percolating of the senses, and a rush of euphoria, as the stakes of a show suddenly take upon unknown – in many ways, indefinable – potential. This moment is, for many, the entire reason why we see Phish. When that moment happens to come in a song steeped in as much historical lore as “Harry Hood” is, however, it raises a show to an entirely different level of excitement, sentiment, and lasting resonance.

While it’s clear here that Trey’s dedicating much of his energy to painting a backdrop of sound throughout the initial post-“Thank you, Mr. Hood…” section, we’re essentially still in typical “Hood-ville” until 9:37. From that point on, however, the jam enters completely unknown territory like it hadn’t since 07/31/03. A rock-based jam ensues, sounding in many ways like a leftover from the previous night’s “Runaway Jim,” before building into a full-on call-and-respond woo segment. Then, when it seems as though the band could momentarily snake back into “Hood,” they instead move into a more rhythmically-oriented realm, crafting a mosaic, where one member’s leads are effortlessly supplanted by another’s. Ambient-based jamming enters the fray, and suddenly the jam has become blissful. Abstract-cubism is the order, and, for a while, between 15ish and 17ish minutes, it feels as though we’re back in Dick’s 2012. Connecting on a dreamlike, plinko-esque jam that sounds like the denouement of a soon-to-be-unfinished jam, Trey plucks the “Hood” theme out of thin air, and the band rebuilds back to a subdued peak.

A creative palette of themes and varying musical passages, this jam harkened back to the band’s most prolific exploration within “Hood” from 07/25/03. A clear statement to the band’s M.O. moving forward in 2013, this “Harry Hood” opened the doors even further to what was possible in the coming Fall, here, coming on the last night of Summer Tour proper.

“Carini” – Hampton, VA – 10/18/2013

On the opening night of Fall Tour, in the midst of a risky & self-conscious show, in their first performance back in the mothership since their reunion weekend in March 2009, “Carini” emerged mid-way through the second set and ultimately set the course of the entire tour. Rooted in the kind of bluesy, melodic, and celebratory rhythmic jams that had defined the best parts of the summer, what separated this “Carini” from the jams that had preceded it, was how simple and how overtly groove-oriented it was.

A bulbous and infectious dive into a rock-based, dance foray, this was the kind of jamming that would ultimately define Phish’s two-week Fall Tour. A fusion between the sparse, rhythmic jams of their 1997 peak with the rootsy, rock-oriented jamming that emerged in 2009 and 2010, further shaped by the cubist approach of 2012, and finished with the celebratory rhythmic style of the summer, this “Carini” felt like an ode to the nostalgically-rich, yet forward-thinking engine that was Phish 2013. Fading into their 3.0 hymnal, “Backwards Down The Number Line” was an entirely appropriate move for a band that had just shouted from the mountaintop their intentions for the proceeding Fall Tour.

The Top Ten Jams Of 2013

“Split Open & Melt” – Saratoga Springs, NY – 07/06/2013

Wow. What a statement. What a glorified mess. A conscious experimental push into the unknown as anything heard from Phish 3.0. This jam covers so much terrain in its 18-minutes, it’s really quite exhausting.

Abstract, gorgeous, uneven, risqué, unpolished, raw, emotive, completely human; an absolute pure example of a band seeking out the elusive hook-up. It’s also perhaps the loosest, and unfocused Phish has allowed itself to be throughout the past five years.

For every jam that has either foreshadowed or reflected the various thematic terrains of 2013, there’s really no other jam produced this year that sounds anything like this “Split Open & Melt.” This might be the most important pre-Tahoe “Tweezer” jam played in the entire summer. One just has to hear the vocal inflection and laugh from Page at the end when he says, “We’ll be right back…” following their sloppy re-entry to “Melt” to understand how unexpectedly deep the band went, and how gloriously lost they became. If any jam in 2013 could symbolize a much-needed trust-fall for Phish, it’s this. Just, wow.

“Carini -> Architect” – Saratoga Springs, NY – 07/06/2013

The first of four versions for Señor Lumpy Head on this list, this one pops immediately with an incredibly focused, highly expansive, delicate, interwoven and intricate piece of music that has continually resided in the upper echelons of Phish’s 2013 output since the moment it concluded. Reminiscent of the 08/31/12 “Undermind” and “Chalk Dust,” this is one of those democratic/full-band conversations we’ve now come to expect in 2012-2013 Phish.

In many ways though, this jam is all about Trey, as he plays with a determined and deliberate precision that would go on to define many of Phish’s best moments in 2013. An example of foundational setting leading to deliberate playing from Trey, this jam sounds like a direct prelude to Fall Tour more than most of the jams played throughout the summer.

Oh, and this jam also segues flawlessly into a debut. So much so, that, for a moment, “Architect” felt like it was simply just another part of the “Carini” jam.

“Crosseyed & Painless> Harry Hood” – Holmdel, NJ – 07/10/2013

Two crucial things happen from 9:20 – 15:01 in this “Crosseyed,” which sets the foundation for literally every moment of fully-connected Phish in 2013.

1.) First, Mike creates an exorbitant amount of space through his melodic and atmospheric playing – something he’d been incorporating into Phish’s improv since mid-2011 – thus slowing down the jam’s typically galloping pace, and allowing more textural space for each member to communicate with each other.

2.) As a result of this, Trey recedes into the shadows and further incorporates his rhythmic playing that had been so evident during the Bangor “Golden Age,” building the jam to a unified peak based in large part around the familiar theme from the 02/16/2003 “Piper.”

Whether or not they were conscious of it, that they were jamming on a specific theme from one of their peak moments in the early stages of 2.0 was yet another of those unexplainable moments of pure musical magic that seem to find their way into the best Phish shows and jams. Fading some two minutes later into “Harry Hood,” which built upon the beauty of Bangor’s encore, was a clear nod to the brilliance of this “Crosseyed.”

“Tweezer” – Stateline, NV – 07/31/2013

A moment of profound unity between both band and audience, as each rediscovered once again what was truly possible in the medium of a Phish show.

Listening back, there are just so many raw moments that harken back to the halcyon days of 1993 – 1998 when the band and audience engaged in the kinds of extended, abstract, absurdist, and inside-joke experiments that were both only possible at a Phish show, and made this whole cultural experiment feel that much smaller, and that much more unified and connected, even as it simultaneously widened as the word of the circus spread throughout upper-middle-class, white America.

A Few Examples:

10:20 – 13:30 — when Trey and Mike are both clearly so desperate to extend what, at this point, is just a standard 3.0, “Tweezer-themed-Tweezer-jam”, that they push atmospheric melodies outwards, building towards Trey’s rhythmic in-and-out fades, which – once Page catches on – leads to the hard-rock segment that defines the 13:42 – 16:06 section of the entire jam.

22:29 – 26:18 — Trey latches onto a deliberate riff which builds towards a gorgeous hose segment that would have single-handedly made this one of the elite jams of the year had it ended right then and there. No woo’s. No 30-minute barrier broken. No matter. This section of Trey-led riffing is among his most impressive playing of the entire year – in fact it’s a direct predecessor of that gorgeous, Allmans-esque jam that concludes the 10/29 “Down With Disease” – and would have been the single reason why – had the jam ended immediately after, as so many have throughout 3.0 – the “Tahoe Tweezer” would have still, at that point, been the longest jam of 3.0.

26:18 – 26:23 — This is, for all intents and purposes, the moment when the “Tahoe Tweezer” becomes THE Tahoe Tweezer. It’s all thanks to Page McConnell. He’s been following Trey’s lead for the past four minutes, and sensing – correctly – that the current theme is about to wind down, inserts the celebratory melody which, once Trey latches on at 26:24, becomes THE Tahoe Tweezer.

27:29 — The first WOO!

27:53 – 28:19 — Trey plays a riff that’s so driven, so celebratory, so deliberate, yet so thoughtless at the same time, so rooted in his purest feelings and emotions – from so deep in his heart – you can literally feel the shit-eating-grin spilling out across his face through your headphones. You can hear him realize right then and there just how big a deal this jam is. It’s not just the fact that it’s a great “Tweezer” to open a set. It’s not just the fact that this is the new longest jam of 3.0. It’s not just the fact that the band has allowed all their fears of playing deep into the unknown wash away. It’s not just the fact that the band is proving both to themselves and all their fans that they’re so locked in once again that they can play with an unending, limitless abandon, and still produce totally focused, driven, and unquestionably listenable, compositionally-sound music. It’s the fact that all these things were happening at once AND they’d latched onto a melody so contagious, so infectious, so rooted in the essential nature that has made music a communal and spiritual force for the entirety of human existence, that they’d spurred a wholly original conversation with their fans in the process. It’s the fact that if the entire goal of Phish’s entire existence – spontaneous moments of shared energy and musical brilliance resulting from carefully crafted compositions allowed to run wild – were boiled down to one moment in time, this moment would be it. That they discovered this through the peak in a “Tweezer” jam is all the more fitting.

32:46 – 35:07 — The Victory Lap. As if they even needed to keep playing following the woo’s. This is all Rock-Star-Trey here. Based loosely off the jam from “Dear Mr. Fantasy,” the band built towards one more massive peak – complete with Woo’s, because, why the fuck not at this point (???) – before coyly snaking back into “Tweezer.”

35:48 – 35:50 — Woo’s within the “Tweezer-riff” comedown. Fuck. This section is a lot like that loose and sloppy “Psycho Killer” that emerged from “AC/DC Bag: on 12/07/1997 as the denouement commenced upon Fall 1997. It’s so unserious, so ridiculous, so clear that whatever the band’s intentions were as they stepped on the stage for that night’s second set, they weren’t prepared for this. As Wax Banks said, “bag>psycho killer to open, seriously? they’re just dorking around at that point…”

36:09 – 36:47 — The final note. The final Woo. The fade. The band holds out this last note, systematically dementing it and burying it in the ground. It’s as if they don’t want to let it go. And why would they? If they only knew at that moment what this would ultimately build to…

Is it the best jam they’ve ever played? No. But it is the most important piece of music the band has played since the 07/29/1997 “Gumbo” or the 11/17/1997 “Ghost.”

It’s that revolutionary moment where the band is clearly searching for some ambiguous sound, some indefinable goal, and unquestionably uncovers something totally new about themselves in the process. Say what you will about the after-effects of the ‘woo’s,’ what’s clear to everyone involved is that without the “Tahoe Tweezer, “none of the brilliance that emerged with such stunning ease and consistency throughout the Fall would have been possible.

“Chalk Dust Torture” – Commerce City, Co – 08/31/2013

Just listen to the segment from 10:02 – 12:36 and try – seriously try – to resist boogieing your ass off wherever you may be. Of all the moments of musical connectivity the band found themselves in throughout the entire 2013 Summer Tour, perhaps none felt as effortless, as mechanical, as choreographed, or as pre-planned as the immediate peak jam segment out of the Set II Opening “Chalk Dust Torture” from 08/31. A year to the date after their revolutionary FUCK YOUR FACE show, a night after informing their fans that MOST SHOWS SPELL SOMETHING, Phish connected on an aggressive, set opening jam, that systematically pointed the way towards the Fall.

Listen to the aforementioned segment again. Within it you can hear the first hints of what will become known as “Fuego.” What’s more is how deftly the band is able to hook up through rhythmically induced passages of deliberate playing, the very kind that would come to define all the highs of the looming Fall Tour.

Perhaps we couldn’t fully understand it at the time. Perhaps we weren’t aware that the band really just wanted to use Dick’s 2013 as a weekend-long celebration. But it’s clear now that this “Chalk Dust” was an essential moment that separated summer from fall in the same way the Toronto “Down With Disease” separated the East Coast Run from the West. A supremely confident statement from a band at the height of their powers once again, this “Chalk Dust” proved that all the foundational setting of early Summer were more than worth the patience required. And, just like in 2012, it was “Chalk Dust” that left perhaps the most lasting legacy on another memorable weekend at Dick’s.

“Tweezer -> Golden Age” – Hampton, VA – 10/20/2013

In 2003 and 2004, Phish regularly dove wildly into the deepest and darkest holes of the musical underworld, drumming up some of the most baroque and macabre jams of their entire career. A result of the personal crises faced by Trey and Page at the time, these jams are, in many ways, singular to perhaps the most harrowing era in the band’s history. Rarely has Phish allowed themselves to even glimpse these seedy and hopeless terrains throughout their overtly-joyful period of rebirth since 2009.

On the final night of their Fall Tour-opening Hampton Run, Phish – and especially Trey – granted themselves a dip back into their darkside, resulting in their most inspired, and passionate improvisational excursion of 2013.

Channeling the guitar-wizardry of Yo La Tengo’s Ira Kaplan, Trey incorporates his effects with caustic shreds of his guitar, cultivating a demented soundscape. There’s a stark nakedness to his playing throughout this jam, a peeling back the layers to his soul, a revealing insight into the darkness that still resides within.

This is the Yin to the “Tahoe Tweezer’s” Yang.

Yet, perhaps what makes this jam so rewarding, and ultimately so influential, is the segment of music that emerges at 19:57. Distantly related to the ethos of “Wingsuit” – a song that would debut some eleven days later, this denouement to the preceding jam segment offered a window into exactly what was possible when the band gave a seemingly fading jam one more look. Reminiscent of comments Page made in the IT DVD regarding the type of music that’s only possible after 18…19…32-minutes of jamming, this final segment would help push the band further, to the moments found in the latter parts of the 10/26 “Drowned,” 10/29 “Down With Disease,” 11/01 “Twist,” and 12/29 “Down With Disease -> Carini.”

In “Golden Age” Phish finally capitalized on the most profound excursions they’d thus far embarked on with the song – 07/02/2011, 07/03/2012, 07/03/2013, 07/30/2013 – pushing it further than it’d ever been before. A fully-realized, groove-based conversation between all four members, this version – along with its accompanying 10/27 version – finally unlocked the code on a song that had evolved in fits and spurts for the band.

A forty-minute segment of music that ultimately transcended everything else the band was capable of accomplishing throughout their brilliant 30th year, one can only imagine how much deeper Phish will now be willing to push their music in 2014.

“Tweezer” – Hartford, CT – 10/27/2013

If the “Tahoe Tweezer” represented a moment of critical mass in Phish’s grand experiment, and the “Hampton Tweezer” was a marked dive back into the netherworld of their musical souls, then the “Hartford Tweezer” was a pronouncement of the celebratory rhythmic/melodic jamming the band had been busily perfecting all year on an extremely meta level.

We’ve long known that the ultimate key to Phish’s improvisational success is simplicity. A concept that’s often far easier said than done – especially when you factor in each member’s exceptional skill level, and the pressures associated with playing live, improvisational music – this version of “Tweezer” immediately gets to the point of itself, and then patiently rides itself out to its proper conclusion. Proof that less is more. Touching distinctly on the theme from “Weekapaug Groove,” this jam feels deeply rooted in the historical lexicon of Phish. It’s the kind of jam that fundamentally fit the conceptual goals of 2013.

Throughout 2013 Phish’s best moment came when they seemed to stop trying. Akin to 1997’s peak based around minimalist funk grooves, the diversity of their stylistic peaks in 2013 are only matched by the effortlessness it took the band to reach them. A moment when each member latched onto a singular idea and ran with it, the “Hartford Tweezer” is equally one of the most pleasurable, and important pieces of music played all year.

“Down With Disease -> Taste” – Reading, PA – 10/29/2013

If one were to try and summarize the reasons for Phish’s two-week-long peak tour during October 2013, one could hypothesize over the bulbous and rhythmic interplay of Mike and Fish. Perhaps one would reference the archaic and personally historic venues the band toured through within their home turf. One might look to the impending performance of Wingsuit as inspiration. In their fifth year back following a five-year break-up, the overall health and friendship within the band has certainly led to a lot of possibilities as to why now, in their 30th year of existence, Phish has reached one of the highest peaks they’ve ever been on artistically. Yet, to me, one aspect of Phish’s playing sticks out as the most profound reason why this past Fall Tour was one of the greatest Phish has ever had: Trey’s deliberate approach to playing his guitar.

Nowhere is this approach more fruitful, nor more rewarding, than in the stunning jam that flowed out of “Down With Disease” on 10/29.

What was initially a funk-laced stroll through familiar “DWD” jam-terrain changed at 13:10 when Page began infusing melodic themes into the mix. Immediately latching onto his ideas, and toying with them before copying them, Trey built this initial foundation into an Allman-laced jam that harkened back to his heavily-lauded Hose-era-playing. Akin to the 12/30/1995 “Hood,” the “Went Gin,” the “IT Ghost,” and the “Tahoe Tweezer,” the melodic and spiritually uplifting notes that emanated from Trey’s guitar with such ease, passion, and deliberateness felt like a step back into an earlier time.

Beyond it’s musical brilliance, the “Reading DWD” provided one final twist for the thousands of fans trying to decipher any and all clues from the band about their upcoming Halloween performance. Immediately following this show, and continuing until the Playbills were dispersed two night’s later, the entire community was convinced we were getting Eat A Peach on Halloween. A fusion of Phish gimmickry, with musical ingenuity, along with the emotive thrill that’s associated with their best improvisational moments, the “Reading DWD” is one of those rare jams that repeatedly delivers on the hype.

“Ghost> Carini” – Atlantic City, NJ – 10/31/2013

On 08/15/2004, following the whole-band collapse in “Glide,” and the emotional breakdown in “Wading In The Velvet Sea,” Trey told the crowd that the band needed to just “blow off some fucking steam…” They then proceeded to dive into a 50-minute firestorm of noise-ladened abstract improv within the limitless confines of “Split Open & Melt” and “Ghost.”

Just over nine years later, following a Halloween set where they debuted twelve completely new originals, Phish responded with this 35-minute segment of blissfully exuberant, and wholly-connected music within the limitless confines of “Ghost” and “Carini.” Without notifying their fans, the symbolic gesture was in many ways related to the necessary move to blow off some emotional steam at Coventry. The difference being the fact that in August 2004 they were a band grasping for their last breaths, whereas in October 2013, they were on the verge of rebirth once more.

The 10/31 “Ghost> Carini” is the sound of a massive weight being lifted off of Phish. For much of 2013 – no one knows exactly how long – the band carried around a secret waiting to be unveiled, live, in front of their fan base: Wingsuit. A burden that must have caused an incredible amount of artistic stress on the band, this jam segment was all the band needed to display how grateful they were for the open-mindedness of their fans to allow them such artistic freedom. Throughout the “Ghost” a sultry and sinister groove builds. The kind of deliberate and simple musical concept that had tracked their best improv of the year, this jam is the confident strut than can only follow a nailed risk. This is DiCaprio dropping the mic after one of his megalomaniacal speeches in “Wolf Of Wall Street.” This is Jordan shrugging after his 6th 3-pointer in the first half of Game 1 of the ’92 Finals. This is Trey’s prowling stomp around the stage during the surprise “Tweezer Reprise” encore on 04/03/1998.

It is, however, the “Carini” that gets all the glory in this segment. A 19-minute excursion that touches on literally all the moments of profound communication throughout the past two years, this jam is up there with the best improv the band has offered throughout the entirety of their career. Led by Trey’s celebratory rhythmic playing, this “Carini” reaches a full-band peak that would be further explored in the following night’s “Twist.” Stylistically reminiscent of the 08/31/2012 “Undermind” and “Chalk Dust,” the 09/01/2012 “Light,” 09/02/2012 “Sand,” 12/28/2012 “Tweezer,” 07/06/2013 “Carini,” and 07/31/2013 “Tweezer,” this is one of those Phish jams that moves effortlessly from one musical passage to another without giving the listener time to lament the conclusion of one before rewarding them with a fully-realized segment of music in the next.

Two songs that just scream All Hallow’s Eve in their musical origins and lyrics, “Ghost> Carini” was a fitting centerpiece for the band to blow-off some steam on a night when they confidently catapulted themselves into their next era.

“Down With Disease -> Carini” – New York City, NY – 12/29/2013

“Thank you, we wrote that…”

By the end of 2013 Phish was on such an artistic peak, and on such a creative roll, that it became second-nature for them to hook-up and explore passages of musical brilliance. Fully-formed ideas seemed to simply emit from their instruments, and questions over if they’d produce another transcendent jam disappeared. Because of this, there are numerous jams from their recent Fall Tour and NYE Run that were painstakingly left off this list: 10/23 “Twist,” 10/25 “Waves -> Carini,” 10/27 “Drowned> Light,” 10/27 “Golden Age,” 10/29 “Twenty Years Later -> Piper,” 11/01 “Twist,” 12/30 “Chalk Dust Torture,” most notably.

When they stepped to the stage on 12/29, following their most fluid first set of the NYE Run, they unveiled yet another masterpiece of improvisation through two of their most reliable vehicles for musical discovery: “Down With Disease” and “Carini.” Two songs that have been featured extensively on this list, for whatever reason, both of these songs consistently allow the band an ideal passage into the unknown. In “DWD” Phish explored the melodic underbelly of the song’s origins – highlighted by Mike & Trey’s interplay as much as the soundscape crafted by Page – before rebuilding itself into a full-on “DWD Reprise.” A moment of euphoric magic for both band and audience alike, the blissful conclusion that rose naturally from the depths of improv was the kind of unexplainable point of connection that has so often marked the best moments of Phish’s 30-year career. Many claim you could feel the walls of the Garden shaking as the band reached a peak of a musical theme that is the composed sound of euphoric joy within the confines of Phishdom.

A yin to the “AC Carini’s” yang, the 16-minute “MSG Carini” was a demonic beast of minimalist groove. Deliberate, haunting, demented, abstract, insane, unified… the “MSG Carini” built from the Yo La Tengo-esque jam in the “Hampton Tweezer” into a hulking beast all its own. A sure sign that the seedy, under-worldly jams, which defined Phish 2.0, are at least back in part here in 3.0, this “Carini” felt like the unification of two eras. The fact that Phish can so willingly dive deep into the darkness again – during an era of such renowned health and personal well-being, no less – is as clear a sign as any of the artistic peak Phish is on right now.

Just as “Down With Disease” and “Carini” provided both the musical peak of the 2012 NYE Run, while simultaneously pointing the way towards the band’s improvisational future, the two songs once again served this symbolic purpose here in 2013. Who knows exactly what direction(s) the band will take their improv in 2014? One thing however, is certain: if they can in anyway build upon, and expand within the musical accomplishments of their 30th year, we’re all in for an absolutely mind-blowing 31st year of Phish.

The Best Jams Of 2013 – Part II

A meaty segment of fully-flowing Phish, this 50-minute opening sequence is undoubtedly one of the most connected musical moments of the entire year. And like Jones Beach’s hour-long groove session, this chunk of improv is clearly more about Phish’s connection to itself. Save for the underworldly dip within Undermind, much of what’s played here is fluid and energetic. Exemplified in the bulbous jam that builds from Sneakin’ Sally, this is the sound of a Phish celebrating the trials won, foundations set, and conflicts overcome in the first three weeks of tour, rather than pushing forth overtly challenging music. Pure joy continuously emits from the stage here as the band celebrates their most accomplished run of the year, to that point. From here on out, there would be no more uncertainty. This is the division between the pre-Tahoe-Tweezer-Phish, and the latter.

07/31

Tweezer

A moment of profound unity between both band and audience as each rediscovered once again what was truly possible in the medium of a Phish show[1]. Is it the best jam they’ve ever played? No. But it is the most important piece of music the band has played since the 07/29/1997 Gumbo or the 11/17/1997 Ghost[2]. It’s that revolutionary moment where the band is clearly searching for some ambiguous sound, some indefinable goal, and unquestionably uncovers something totally new about themselves in the process. Say what you will about the after-effects of the ‘woo’s,’ what’s clear to everyone involved is that without the Tahoe Tweezer, none of the brilliance that emerged with such stunning ease and consistency throughout the Fall would have been possible.

08/03

Rock & Roll -> Steam

Celebratory melodic jamming as a singular jam. On the second night of a three-night run in the intimate halls of San Francisco’s Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, after an opening show in which the band essentially took a – much-deserved – full-show victory lap following the Tahoe breakthrough, Phish unleashed a jam that displayed their evolved cubism, along with their innate communicative abilities, all under the umbrella of a reverent melodic passage that spoke volumes to the musical peak they found themselves on. Mike and Trey trade licks and leads throughout, and seemingly every trill Trey offers, Mike responds back with a perfectly placed meatball-riff that envelops and fits the immediate moment of the jam brilliantly. For all the hyperbole that’s been invoked to describe the recent Fall Tour, perhaps the most incredible thing about it is the fact that its best jams are unquestionably the simplest ones. A direct effect of the peak the band discovered via the Tahoe Tweezer, deliberateness, faith in simple, melodic music, and a trust in the communicative direction of each member, all helped to shape the band’s October peak. Each of these qualities is heard in their purest form throughout this Rock & Roll. If we only knew then what we know now…

08/04

Energy> Runaway Jim

As a rule: In 3.0, you never miss a Sunday show[3]. On the final Sunday of the Summer Tour, Phish crafted a complete show that is as much a self-referential statement as it is an evolutionary step forward. Capped off by a 30-minute segment of music that ushered in its second set, the Energy> Runaway Jim is Phish’s 2013 Summer Tour in its essential form. Fusing a 2013 debut – which emerged as The Song Of Summer – with one of their oldest classics, the band simultaneously reflected on a tour that had set the foundation for future musical successes – while also forcing the band to overcome numerous external struggles[4] – and looked ahead to the (at the time) unknown heights of Fall. Building outwards from the structure of Energy via a rising theme, the entire jam changed on a dime at 6:39 when Trey imposed his wha into the mix. What followed was a rhythmically induced wall of sound that flowed into a piece of seedy urbaneness defined by Page’s Lydian riff from 9:49 – 10:11. Trey would systematically – and brilliantly – mimic, and then distort this riff to the jam’s fading conclusion.

In Runaway Jim, Trey did his best Hendrix impression since 09/01/12’s Prince Caspian, as the band proved the limitless potential for Jim – whenever the band is keen on letting it off its leash, that is. Rooted in sinister, bluesy psychedelia, this jam felt like a peek back into Fall ’97, when Trey would regularly indulge in his rock star fantasies. Yet in the context of 2013 the jam takes on a much more interesting – and necessary – accord, considering just how far Trey has come as a guitarist since 2008, and how he commanded many of the best jams throughout the Fall Tour. Rather than imposing his will because of a lack of support from his bandmates – or, in effort to simply kill time – it’s clear Trey needed to prove to himself, to the band, and, to his fans, that he was capable of shredding in an improvisational setting again like in the days of old. In a tour in which so many of the band’s classics were given new life, it was quite fitting the tour would conclude with yet another pushing the band to such heights.

08/05

Harry Hood

There’s that moment in every single jam where everyone – band and audience alike – collectively realizes we’re suddenly in wide open, untapped, and unknown terrain. It may come via a reliable Set II opening vehicle[5], or in a totally unexpected song/slot in the show[6]. Wherever and whenever it comes, the moment is ultimately defined by an immediate percolating of the senses, and a rush of euphoria, as the stakes of a show suddenly take upon unknown – in many ways, indefinable – potential. This moment is, for many, the entire reason why we see Phish. When that moment happens to come in a song steeped in as much historical lore as Harry Hood is, however, it raises a show to an entirely different level of excitement, sentiment, and lasting resonance.

While it’s clear here that Trey’s dedicating much of his energy to painting a backdrop of sound throughout the initial post-“Thank you, Mr. Hood…” section, we’re essentially still in typical Hood-ville until 9:37. From that point on, however, the jam enters completely unknown territory like it hadn’t since 07/31/03. A rock-based jam ensues, sounding in many ways like a leftover from the previous night’s Runaway Jim, before building into a full-on call-and-respond woo segment. Then, when it seems as though the band could momentarily snake back into Hood, they instead move into a more rhythmically-oriented realm, crafting a mosaic, where one member’s leads are effortlessly supplanted by another’s. Ambient-based jamming enters the fray, and suddenly the jam has become blissful. Abstract-cubism is the order, and, for a while, between 15ish and 17ish minutes, it feels as though we’re back in Dick’s 2012. Connecting on a dreamlike, plinko-esque jam that sounds like the denouement of a soon-to-be-unfinished jam, Trey plucks the Hood theme out of thin air, and the band rebuilds back to a subdued peak.

A creative palette of themes and varying musical passages, this jam harkened back to the band’s most prolific exploration within Hood from 07/26/03. A clear statement to the band’s M.O. moving forward in 2013, this Harry Hood opened the doors even further to what was possible in the coming Fall, here, coming on the last night of Summer Tour proper.

08/31

Chalk Dust Torture

Just listen to the segment from 10:02 – 12:36 and try – seriously try – to resist boogieing your ass off wherever you may be. Of all the moments of musical connectivity the band found themselves in throughout the entire 2013 Summer Tour, perhaps none felt as effortless, as mechanical, as choreographed, or as pre-planned as the immediate peak jam segment out of the Set II Opening Chalk Dust Torture from 08/31. A year to the date after their revolutionary FUCK YOUR FACE show, a night after informing their fans that MOST SHOWS SPELL SOMETHING, Phish connected on an aggressive, set opening jam, that systematically pointed the way towards the Fall.

Listen to the aforementioned segment again. Within it you can hear the first hints of what will become Fuego. What’s more is how deftly the band is able to hook up through rhythmically induced passages of deliberate playing, the very kind that would come to define all the highs of the looming Fall Tour.

Perhaps we couldn’t fully understand it at the time. Perhaps we weren’t aware that the band really just wanted to use Dick’s 2013 as a weekend-long celebration. But it’s clear now that this Chalk Dust was an essential moment that separated summer from fall in the same way the Toronto Down With Disease separated the East Coast Run from the West. A supremely confident statement from a band at the height of their powers once again, this Chalk Dust proved that all the foundational setting of early Summer were more than worth the patience required. And, just like in 2012, it was Chalk Dust that left perhaps the most lasting legacy on another memorable weekend at Dick’s.

[1] Listening back, there are just so many raw moments that harken back to the halcyon days of 1993 – 1998 when the band and audience engaged in the kinds of extended, abstract, absurdist, and inside-joke experiments that were both only possible at a Phish show, and made this whole cultural experiment feel that much smaller, and that much more unified and connected, even as it simultaneously widened as the word of the circus spread throughout upper-middle-class, white America.

A Few Examples:

10:20 – 13:30 — when Trey and Mike are both clearly so desperate to extend what, at this point, is just a standard 3.0, Tweezer-themed-Tweezer-jam, that they push atmospheric melodies outwards, building towards Trey’s rhythmic in-and-out fades, which – once Page catches on – leads to the hard-rock segment that defines the 13:42 – 16:06 section of the entire jam.

22:29 – 26:18 — Trey latches onto a deliberate riff which builds towards a gorgeous hose segment that would have single-handedly made this one of the elite jams of the year had it ended right then and there. No woo’s. No 30-minute barrier broken. No matter. This section of Trey-led riffing is among his most impressive playing of the entire year – in fact it’s a direct predecessor of that gorgeous, Allmans-esque jam that concludes the 10/29 Down With Disease – and would have been the single reason why – had the jam ended immediately after, as so many have throughout 3.0 – the Tahoe Tweezer would have still, at that point, been the longest jam of 3.0.

26:18 – 26:23 — This is, for all intents and purposes, the moment when the Tahoe Tweezer becomes THE Tahoe Tweezer. It’s all thanks to Page McConnell. He’s been following Trey’s lead for the past four minutes, and sensing – correctly – that the current theme is about to wind down, inserts the celebratory melody which, once Trey latches on at 26:24, becomes THE Tahoe Tweezer.

27:29 — The first WOO!

27:53 – 28:19 — Trey plays a riff that’s so driven, so celebratory, so deliberate, yet so thoughtless at the same time, so rooted in his purest feelings and emotions – from so deep in his heart – you can literally feel the shit-eating-grin spilling out across his face through your headphones. You can hear him realize right then and there just how big a deal this jam is. It’s not just the fact that it’s a great Tweezer to open a set. It’s not just the fact that this is the new longest jam of 3.0. It’s not just the fact that the band has allowed all their fears of playing deep into the unknown wash away. It’s not just the fact that the band is proving both to themselves and all their fans that they’re so locked in once again that they can play with an unending, limitless abandon, and still produce totally focused, driven, and unquestionably listenable, compositionally-sound music. It’s the fact that all these things were happening at once AND they’d latched onto a melody so contagious, so infectious, so rooted in the essential nature that has made music a communal and spiritual force for the entirety of human existence, that they’d spurred a wholly original conversation with their fans in the process. It’s the fact that if the entire goal of Phish’s entire existence – spontaneous moments of shared energy and musical brilliance resulting from carefully crafted compositions allowed to run wild – were boiled down to one moment in time, this moment would be it. That they discovered this through the peak in a Tweezer jam is all the more fitting.

32:46 – 35:07 — The Victory Lap. As if they even needed to keep playing following the woo’s. This is all Rock Star Trey here. Based loosely off the jam from Dear Mr. Fantasy, the band built towards one more massive peak – complete with Woo’s, because, why the fuck not at this point (???) – before coyly snaking back into Tweezer.

35:48 – 35:50 — Woo’s within the Tweezer-riff comedown. Fuck. This section is a lot like that loose and sloppy Psycho Killer that emerged from AC/DC Bag on 12/07/1997 as the denouement commenced upon Fall 1997. It’s so unserious, so ridiculous, so clear that whatever the band’s intentions were as they stepped on the stage for that night’s second set, they weren’t prepared for this. As Wax Banks said, “bag>psycho killer to open, seriously? they’re just dorking around at that point…”

36:09 – 36:47 — The final note. The final Woo. The fade. The band holds out this last note, systematically dementing it and burying it in the ground. It’s as if they don’t want to let it go. And why would they? If they only knew at that moment what this would ultimately build to…

[2] Obviously a point of immense contention. Certainly a subject for another essay, and another time. However, if you allow yourself the perspective that Fall 1997 was the last period – until now – when the band was both – A. Fully Committed to the idea of Phish, so much so that they spent a majority of their time exploring within their music to push it forward along a specific set of goals, and B. Neither succumbing to the overwhelming pressures of fame and the bloated organization they’d created by turning to drugs which led to a 11-13 year period of uncertainty, collapse, rebirth, and rebuilding, nor immersed in the necessary process of rebuilding everything that was lost in said period – then the notion that the band hasn’t played a piece of music that’s equally inspired, influenced, reassured, and pushed them further than the Tahoe Tweezer clearly has since some time in 1997, is both plausible, and completely accurate. None of this is said to dismiss the music of 1998 – 2012, of course.

[3] 03/06/09, 06/07/09, 06/21/09, 11/01/09, 11/29/09, 06/27/10, 07/03/11, 09/04/11, 08/19/12, 09/02/12, 12/30/12, 07/14/13, 07/21/13, 08/04/13, 10/20/13, 10/27/13 are each both Sunday shows, and some of the best whole-shows the band has played since reuniting five years ago.

[4] It really can’t be emphasized enough how big an impact the rain that followed Phish throughout the Eastern half of the United States had on their playing, and presumably, their psyche. Out of the fourteen shows the band played from Bangor – Toronto, six were played up against torrential rainstorms, (07/07, 07/12, 07/14, 07/17, 07/19, 07/21) one had to be rescheduled completely, (Toronto) one had to be aborted some 13 minutes into the second set, (07/19) and another was nearly cancelled, only allowed to continue when the rains that poured relentlessly from the skies over Chicago, suddenly cleared (07/21). Throughout this stretch, you can hear the band’s increasing frustration in their inability to fully concentrate on their music in the face of such insolvent, yet unremarkable interferences. Be it Trey claiming the band was “practicing making safe music,” on 07/12, or Page and Trey’s clear frustration with being forced to evacuate the stage on 07/19 and 07/21, or the abrupt and constricted three-set show on 07/20, or Page’s endless gratitude towards their fans for their support on 07/22, one got the sense throughout those three weeks that many of the barriers between artist and fans were brought down as a result of extraneous issues.

[5] There’s that sensation that always accompanies a Set II opening Down With Disease, Tweezer, Crosseyed & Painless, or Rock & Roll (among others, but these in particular, especially in 3.0) where it feels like the band is giving us a knowing wink and a nod, as if to say, “here we go…”

[6] Think: 12/14/95 NICU, 07/10/99 Chalk Dust, 08/06/10 Cities, 07/01/12 Fee, or the 08/31/12 Undermind, for just a few examples.

With just four shows remaining in 2013, weeks removed from a peak-level Fall Tour, and just three months since the conclusion of a Summer Tour that is increasingly becoming an underrated gem, it’s high time we take stock of where we are musically with Phish in their 30th year.

Since the onset of 3.0, I’ve compiled year-end ‘Best Of’[1] lists for each successive year. Check them out here: 2009 Part I and Part II, 2010, 2011, and 2012. In each of those essays I narrowed my selections to the bare essentials: Ten Jams, Ten Shows, and Three Honorable Mentions for each section. Detailing the evolutionary steps forward in each of the past five years of Phish’s history, these lists have focused on the overall diversity of Phish’s improv, rather than any singular style. Song length is never an issue taken seriously. Popular opinion or communal preference is never taken into account. Many of my own personal favorite jams have even been omitted from each of these lists. Essentially, these lists are to be viewed as historical guides, or, musical stepping stones, which tell the story of how Phish got from Hampton ’09 to Atlantic City ’13.

2013 however, presents a new challenge altogether, particularly on the jamming front.

Following their creative renaissance at Dick’s 2012, Phish entered 2013 on a mission to once again break through their own artistic mold by infusing the musical and communicative skills of their past with a more democratic model that would shape their future. After reestablishing their communication and connectivity throughout 2009 – 2012, their 30th year was poised to be one of both self-referential celebration, and the symbolic onset of a new era. Furthermore, after informing their fanbase on 12/31/2012 that “You can’t please everyone, so you got to please yourself,” it was clear that 2013 would be a whole-band peak on Phish’s terms – and at their own pace – not based on the desires of any sector of their fanbase. As a result, Phish took their time, setting the foundation within the early part of their summer tour, which lead to skepticism, impatience, and uncertainty from many corners of their fanbase. While it was clear by the time Fall Tour rolled around that Phish had known exactly what they were doing all along, the debates over what “The Right Way” was for Phish still raged ever onwards.

In hindsight it’s clear there are three distinct periods of 2013:

1.) Bangor – Toronto, when Phish laid the foundation for the musical peaks to come, and the eventual unveiling of Wingsuit, through a series of shows focused heavily on their own musical history. Celebrating their thirty-year legacy, the band centered much of their attention on the most revered songs in their catalogue, while constructing setlists that felt plucked from their past. Controlling many of their shows with a noticeably tight rotation, and keeping a short leash on each of their jams, this early period of 2013 displayed the unyielding potential of Phish at this stage in their career, while emphasizing a focused insistence on building tension and inter-band-communication.

2.) The Gorge – Dicks, when Phish – fully removed from the torrential weather of the East Coast and completely confident in their abilities and direction – moved beyond foundational setting, and began to consistently play high quality shows with ease. After informing their fanbase that only Phish knew “The Right Way” for Phish during the Chicago Harpua, they now unveiled their longest piece of improv since 2003, and connected for three of the most diverse jams of the entire year in the Tahoe Tweezer, Hollywood Hood and Dick’s Chalk Dust. Further, at Dick’s, the band continued to zag against the expectations (and desires) of many of their fanbase by declaring MOST SHOWS SPELL SOMETHING (Backwards). Subtly pointing out the many variables that determine the content and goals of any singular Phish show, the band clarified for those who had been reading between the lines, just what their intentions throughout 2013 had been. Finally, they continued to set the stage for the peak month of October, and the ultimate unveiling of their new album Wingsuit on Halloween night, through a series of self-conscious shows and jams that only further displayed their advanced level of play in their 30th year.

3.) Hampton – Atlantic City, when everything Phish has been working towards since 03/06/2009 came together in one hyperbole-filled two week tour. Full of top-level shows, standout jams, unyielding energy, effortless musical connectivity, and a Halloween show that will undoubtedly alter the entire direction of the band over the coming years, this was the tour we had all (band included) been waiting for over the past five – even fifteen – years.

As a result, there is so much creativity packed into each show in 2013, that it becomes incredibly challenging to trim the fat down to a list of 13 standout jams[2]. With this in mind, and keenly aware of the fact that the New Year’s Run is sure to produce at least 2 – 3 MORE top-level jams (it always does…) I’m using this space in time as a way to hash over the entirety of what I believe to be the very best of Phish in 2013. With a heavy focus on the diversity and sheer quantity of excellent improvisational interplay within Phish in 2013, think of this list as both one giant rough draft and a potential playlist for anyone seeking to absorb the best of Phish in 2013 in one sitting[3].

This list will appear in three parts so as to focus on the three aforementioned periods in 2013:

I. Bangor – Toronto

II. The Gorge – Dicks

III. Hampton – Atlantic City.

Please feel free to send me your comments on which essential jams I may have overlooked, which I’m giving (far) too much credit to, and, if you agree or disagree in any way with how I’ve interpreted this really diverse, and really incredible, year in Phish’s history. Without further adieu, the list[4]:

The Best Jams Of 2013 – Part I

07/05

Light -> The Mango Song

Following the focused and game-changing Dick’s Light of 2012, it’s only appropriate than any ‘Best Of’ 2013 list begins with the most reliable jam vehicle of 3.0. A song that, lyrically, speaks so directly to Trey’s rehabilitation and awakening following his 2006 arrest, and musically caters itself to the kind of open-ended exploration that had become something of a rarity throughout much of 2009-2011[5], everyone knew the first Light of 2013 was going be a seminal moment. Expanding outwards on an ambient plane much like the 12/02/09 and 08/07/10 versions, before evolving into a rhythmic jaunt, the jam turns on a dime at 11:11 with a sinister, groove-ladened riff from Trey. Foreshadowing the clarity and deliberateness he’d continue to iron out in his playing over the course of the summer – ultimately peaking in Fall – the band fuses this segment into an blissful melodic jam that finally resolves itself in The Mango Song. The SPAC Light is, while certainly not the rawest, nor the most accomplished jam of 2013, if nothing else, the moment when we all collectively realized the revolutionary steps forward of late-2012 were not all for naught.

07/06

Tube

For everyone lamenting the death of the extended Tube, please direct your ears to this version[6]. For whatever may be missing from an 8 – 12-minute Tube jam of 97-04 lore, the band more than makes up for the lack of quantity with focused, groove-heavy, linear, funk-based-jamming these days. Perhaps the best modern example of what’s always possible with Tube, this version pops immediately from a somewhat awkward first set, crafting an absolutely infectious dance number. What’s more is this is one of the first moments of 2013 where it’s clear to anyone listening that song length has ultimately become moot. As anyone at SPAC – or even those web-casting – could attest, this jam felt like 10+ minutes, regardless its 6:48 length. Check out the crowd’s reaction when it’s clear Trey’s pushing the song past the unofficial coda to be reminded once again of the beauty of the intercommunication between band and audience in this whole Live Phish thing.

Split Open & Melt

Wow. What a statement. What a glorified mess[7]. A conscious experimental push into the unknown as anything I’ve heard from Phish 3.0, this jam covers so much terrain in its 18-minutes, it’s really quite exhausting. Abstract, gorgeous, uneven, risqué, unpolished, raw, emotive, completely human; an absolute pure example of a band seeking out the elusive hook-up. It’s also perhaps the loosest, and unfocused Phish has allowed itself to be throughout the past five years. For every jam that has either foreshadowed or reflected the various thematic terrains of 2013, there’s really no other jam produced this year that sounds anything like this Split Open & Melt. This might be the most important pre-Tahoe Tweezer jam played in the entire summer. One just has to hear the vocal inflection and laugh from Page at the end when he says, “We’ll be right back…” following their sloppy re-entry to Melt to understand how unexpectedly deep the band went, and how gloriously lost they became.

Carini -> Architect

The first of four versions for Señor Lumpy Head on this overall list, this one pops immediately with an incredibly focused, highly expansive, delicate, interwoven and intricate piece of music that has continually resided in the upper echelons of Phish’s 2013 output since the moment it concluded. Reminiscent of the 08/31/12 Undermind and Chalk Dust, this is one of those democratic/full-band conversations we’ve now come to expect in 2013. In many ways though, this jam is all about Trey, as he plays with a determined and deliberate precision that would go on to define many of Phish’s best moments in 2013. An example of foundational setting leading to deliberate playing from Trey, this jam sounds like a direct prelude to Fall Tour more than most of the jams played throughout the summer. Oh, and this jam also segues flawlessly into a debut. So much so, that, for a moment, Architect felt like it was simply just another part of the Carini jam.

07/10

Crosseyed & Painless> Harry Hood

Two crucial things happen from 9:20 – 15:01 in this Crosseyed, which sets the foundation for literally every moment of fully-connected Phish in 2013[8].

1.) First, Mike creates an exorbitant amount of space through his melodic and atmospheric playing – something he’d been incorporating into Phish’s improv since mid-2011 – thus slowing down the jam’s typically galloping pace, and allowing more textural space for each member to communicate with each other.

2.) As a result of this, Trey recedes into the shadows and further incorporates his rhythmic playing that had been so evident during the Bangor Golden Age, building the jam to a unified peak based in large part around the familiar theme from the 02/16/2003 Piper.

Whether or not they were conscious of it, that they were jamming on a specific theme from one of their peak moments in the early stages of 2.0 was yet another of those unexplainable moments of pure musical magic that seem to find there way into the best Phish shows and jams. Fading some two minutes later into Harry Hood, which built upon the beauty of Bangor’s encore, was a clear nod to the brilliance of this Crosseyed.

07/12

Rock & Roll -> 2001> Tweezer -> Cities -> The Wedge

Like a snapshot right out of Summer ‘98, this fully-flowing chunk of the second set – in one of the more polarizing shows of summer[9] – is both the least-challenging and least groundbreaking piece of exploratory music from the entire tour[10]. And yet, it’s unquestionably some of the most infectiously pleasurable, which is exactly why it finds itself on this list. Rock & Roll moves into a modulated jam based on its origins and theme, ultimately reminding one of the great 08/08/2009 jam from The Gorge. Tweezer is the crown jewel of this sequence as Trey, who just sounds so playful throughout, jumps on a bouncy groove, drives it skywards and then patiently segues it right into Cities. Forget about listening critically here. Just fucking throw this on and boogie.

07/13

Harry Hood

A banner year for Hood. A. Banner. Fucking. Year. Right smack in the middle of one of the most overtly old-school shows of 2013[11] comes this overtly old-school Hood that does literally everything anyone could ever want from Harry Hood. Trey’s in command throughout in the purest, peakiest Hood in a year full of standout versions. Just soak this one in and be grateful the band has spent so much time rededicating themselves to this classic.

Mike’s Song> Simple> Weekapaug Groove

Early on this summer it appeared as though the band was coaxing a big jam out of Mike’s Song. While they ultimately never did, this version from the first night at Merriweather Post is the closest they came, and the best version of the entire year thus far. For me, however, this Groove is all about the Simple. Only one of two versions played all year, this Simple loosely locks onto the theme from Down With Disease, building a subtle, warm, full-bodied, wholly-united jam out of the band that’s among my favorite musical moments of the entire year. Proof of the musical progressions made by Trey’s insistence on focusing on his rhythmic playing, this jam just goes to show how little Phish actually has to play within a jam to craft brilliance.

07/14

Stash

They took their time prior to starting up perhaps their most innocuous first set composition[12]. They knew where they wanted to go. This version was to be different. They wanted to see how far they could push Stash while still remaining within Stash. It was – or at least, it sounds as though it was – an experiment in controlled democratic fusion. It showed Phish what they could do within even the most structured of their songs. It ultimately helped to loosen them up as they pushed their most time-honored classics far beyond the limits they’d set for them back in 2009. Trey’s wha funk spills into major-keyed bliss on a dime. This is effortless Phish. This is 2013 in a jam.

Light -> Boogie On Reggae Woman

Following that masterful first set Stash: the payoff. In perhaps the best show of the tour to that point, Phish let loose on their modern classic, fusing start/stop jams with rapid key changes, creating a disoriented dance-fest that shook Merriweather Post to its core. A prelude to the “woo’s” comes as the band peaks the jam in hysterically controlled chaos; this jam is the sound of a band fully realizing their interconnectivity, and yet still unwilling to let it all hang out at once. This is like one of those great Summer ’97 jams, when the band knew they were onto something, but weren’t quite ready to simply walk out on stage and totally strut their stuff like they’d do throughout the Fall. Few times has Boogie On sounded this anticipated, nor this perfect all at once.

Within the confines of 2013, there were seven fully-flowing sets of music[13]. Of them, the segment from the first night of a two-night stand in Alpharetta, GA is neither the most accomplished[14], the most diverse[15], nor even the most jam-happy[16]. What it is however is a quasi-throw-back to the early days of 3.0 when humor and song selection were of the utmost importance in a Phish show, and jams rarely veered too far off into the unknown. Fusing this approach (as heard in the endless Heartbreaker teases, and the first of two Makisupa Policeman of 2013) with two jams that thematically sound plucked right out of Dick’s 2012[17], Phish crafted an indelible segment of music on a Tuesday in the Atlanta ‘burbs. For another example of how little time Phish needs to reach plains of musical bliss, look no further than the sublime Chalk Dust, a jam that feels like it covers 15-20 min of music in just under 10.

07/17

Piper -> Fast Enough For You

In a year in which the band spent so much time reviving their classics[18], while also pushing many of their newer songs into the unknown[19], less time was devoted to many of their turn-of-the-century vehicles than at any point in the past 15 years. Nowhere is this clearer than with Piper. A song that drove many of the best jams of 2003-2012, Piper appears to have adopted the role once held by Twist, as the mid-set recharge. Rather than explore the vociferous terrain Piper so seamlessly caters to, Phish instead employed it as a bridge between jams, and between the two halves of a second set, allowing its driving groove to maintain energy, rather than explore the unknown. Of these versions, perhaps none is as diverse as this one from Georgia. Touching on the baroque, haunted, underworldliness of many of its 2.0 peak versions, this Piper goes deep in a flash. Teasing the refrain from Energy, Trey immediately begins to impose darkness through the use of his tremelo effect, thus harkening back to the sprawling 07/19/2003 version. Emerging to a more blissful and melodic zone of music before fading softly into the ever-rare Fast Enough For You, perhaps it was all a subtle wink from Trey towards all those clamoring for a return of the slow-build intro?

07/21

Energy -> Ghost -> The Lizards

“Thank you for sticking around….” With those five words, the band systematically lifted the imposing weight of three weeks full of torrential weather throughout their east coast run, and thus pivoted from the foundational setting of the first half of their summer tour, before moving earnestly into one of the strongest peaks of their entire career[20]. Energy, the song of summer, builds upon its 07/17 version, with Trey invoking funk rhythms that bleed into a gorgeous melodic space – ala the 11/22/1997 Halley’s Comet. Ghost is employed once again as something of a bridge, but it’s worth hearing all the same, as it quickly finds its way into a lilting jam – by way of a distinct Seven Below tease – that fades idyllically into The Lizards. A brilliant segment of music, which makes up the meat of one of the strongest sets of summer – and perhaps the most critical moment of the entire year[21] – these uninterrupted 35 minutes have held up long since the band moved westwards from the sodden and abandoned airport on the shores of Lake Michigan.

07/22

Down With Disease -> 2001

After kicking off the summer with three fairly contained versions[22] of one of their most cherished Set II Openers, Phish finally broke through with a jam that built off of their pivotal second set on 07/21, and pointed the way westward. Featuring melodic and rhythmic riffs from Trey throughout, the jam ultimately settled on a remarkably pleasant platitude, which felt entirely composed, and is the kind of jam one could listen to on repeat without ever growing tired. In short, this is simply one of the most enjoyable, and pleasing jams of the entire summer. A section of wholly deliberate, rising melodic playing followed, ultimately giving way to a full-on tease of Sea Of Love from The National. Further proof of how much Trey has gained from his time spent listening to – and playing with – those in the indie rock world. Following this all up with a truly patient build towards 2001 rounded off one of the most subtly diverse jams of the year, one that clearly helped to initiate the band’s massive peak over the next four months.

David Bowie

Perhaps no Phish classic has struggled to regain its unknown potential since the onset of 3.0 as one David Bowie[23]. With only a few glimmers of hope stuck in there, things changed with drastic earnestness on 12/28/12 when the band began exploring within the frame of Bowie like they hadn’t since 2003. Powerful versions on 07/05 and 07/20 paved the way for a revivalist rendition to end the second set in Toronto. A jam I highlighted in August as one of the underrated gems of the whole tour, this version leans more towards the demented explorations from 12/28/12, while further emphasizing Trey’s rhythmic explorations. Fusing the playful old-school nature of Phish with their modern and more subtle communicativeness, this Bowie is a reference point for anyone searching for the moments when Phish was fully capable of abandoning the foundational setting of the first half of summer tour, and got down to the business of properly (and consistently) breaking through their own artistic mold.

*A huge THANK YOU to Mike Hamad of @phishmaps and @MikeHamad for allowing me to use his jam maps for a few of the jams of this list. His work is phenomenal, and it really helps those listening understand better what’s happening in Phish’s music. Please give him a follow on Twitter if you don’t already. And check out his site: Setlist Schematics for even more jam maps.

[1] ‘Best’ is obviously a tricky term when it comes to a subjective essay such as this. Seeing as so many different people love Phish for so many different reasons, it’s impossible to capture an entire community’s preferences, and moments of unified elation, within a singular list. Believe me, I’m aware.

And yet, these lists are more than simply a reflection of my own subjectivities and favorite jams/shows. These lists are a result of an extensive amount of time spent listening, reading, writing and thinking – all the while parsing through the historical layers of Phish – in search of moments that stand out, and seem to both unify and exemplify the sound of an entire year. Be certain, many of my “favorite” jams and shows from the past five years have been omitted from each of my lists. Be certain that some of my favorite jams from this past year were omitted in the initial whittling process.

[2] NB, this list originally began with more than 130 individual songs, and something like 75 single jam entities. It’s now at 76/39 respectively. Progress.

[3] Anyone in need of any of these jams, or of the full playlist, feel free to hit me up @sufferingjuke and I’ll happily send em your way.

[4] This list will be delivered chronologically as all my ‘Best Of’ Lists are. Some may be fond of ranking, but I find that to be both an insolent and irrelevant endeavor when discussing and documenting Phish. This is art, not sports for Christ sake’s.

[5] A topic for another essay and another time, when you actually go back and chart the actual occurrences of improv from 03/06/09 – 12/31/11, it’s clear the band jammed with far more regularity than many wanted (or were willing (in many ways, still are willing)) to give Phish credit for. Like I said, another essay, another time.

[7] In much the same spirit of the 12/30/09 Back On The Train, 06/25/10 Chalk Dust, 10/20/10 SOAM, 08/15/11 Undermind, and 08/31/12 Runaway Jim, this SOAM feels like a leftover of the unguarded, throw-the-paint-at-the-wall-&-see-what-happens, unfiltered, macabre-style jamming that so defined the band’s 2003-2004 period, otherwise known as 2.0.

[8] There are loads of examples of groundwork being laid throughout the first three weeks of tour, a period wherein which many in the fan base were melting on Twitter, PT, Phish.net & in Mr. Miner’s comments section about how Phish wasn’t living up to the lofty heights established in 2012, or weren’t busting-out enough songs, or jamming with enough frequency, etc. Among them: Bangor’s Golden Age – specifically Trey’s insistent use of his wha-wha pedal – 2001, Antelope, and Hood; SPAC’s Cities -> Bowie, 46 Days -> Steam and Slave; the defiantly old school setlist and playing on 07/07, 07/13 and 07/14; and the funk escapade of It’s Ice that gave the band an insane amount of confidence to let their hair down and just groove.

[9] In all seriousness I loved this entire show. Set I is one of the most unique of the entire summer, featuring excellent versions of CTB and 46 Days, a loping stride through Ocelot, and an old-school pairing of Reba and David Bowie to close things out. Then again, I didn’t have to brave the cold, steely rain that reportedly blew sideways through the open-air venue that night. From my cozy apartment though, things sounded quite lovely, tbh.

[10] Yeah, I just know there’s some dude on PT right now spewing his coffee over this statement. It’s not exploratory at all. Get over it. This 60-min segment of uninterrupted music has far more in common with the late-1.0 era than anything else really played at all throughout 2013. It’s all groove. Groove for the sake of groove. It’s essentially all extended Type I jams, (with the great exception of the melodic jam that emerges from Tweezer prior to its segue into Cities) it’s essentially one big excuse for the band to simply hook-up. None of this, btw, is said to insinuate that it’s not a huge evolutionary step forward for the band within the confines of 2013, nor worth your time, or your ears.

[11] It’s right in line with 07/07, 07/10, 07/14, 10/23, and 10/25 as shows the band played throughout 2013 that felt plucked right out of 1992-1995.

[12] You could make the same argument for Bowie and Reba, but there’s something about Stash that – particularly in 3.0 – just screams “live soundcheck.”

[20] You can make a strong case that from 07/21 – 11/02 the band played 15 instant classic shows – an incredible 60% of the shows during that period – something they haven’t accomplished with such ease – nor such consistency – since probably 1997.

[21] There’s no denying how profoundly well the band was playing throughout much of the first three weeks of tour, but it was clear they were in need of something of a moment of truth to push them beyond the spurts (and the horrendous weather that dogged them) that had somewhat defined their east coast run. From the final set of their weekend in Chicago onwards, 2013 has been nothing short of a masterpiece. Without the interconnectivity and phearlessness displayed here, who knows what would have become of the band’s 30th year…

[22] This isn’t to say in any way that the other versions were bad, per se. Both the 07/07 and 07/13 versions contained some phenomenal interplay from Trey and Page in particular. Just that, well this is Down With Disease. It’s kind of one of those ‘when in doubt songs’ for Phish. The kind they can always rely on to jump-start a set/show, or immediately build upon the energy of a hooked-up Set I.

[23] Seriously, take out the 06/19/10, 10/20/10, 06/03/11, 07/03/11, and 12/28/12 versions and what you’re left with are essentially a massive amount of skeletal imitations of what Bowie once was. Of all the Phish classics that have suffered – necessarily and unnecessarily – at the hands of Phish’s full-on rebuilding project of the last five years, none have been as tragic as that of Bowie.

Regardless what happens throughout the rest of 2013, Phish’s recently completed Summer Tour is certain to go down as their best overall tour since Summer 1998. Full of thematic, boundary pushing shows, odes to their historical roots, along with clear paths pointing towards their future, 2013 is the most complete Phish tour in over a decade, and a sure sign of the summit reached in Phish’s 3.0 experiment.

With so many highlights contained throughout the tour this is the first in recent memory that simply cannot be divided into best/worst, or worth your listen/not worth your listen categories. There’s nothing cut-and-dry about 3.0 Phish tours anymore.

EVERYTHING played this summer is worth your time and your attention.

As a result, James and I figured we’d compile something of a road map for fans in search of some guidance of where to begin their Summer 2013 (re)listen. As we’re both well aware of, after all, with so much good music just produced, one can become easily overwhelmed by the prospect of re-listening. While this is an “awards” compilation, yes, it’s also meant to be read as an overall guide to the most noteworthy moments of the tour.

Moreover, we wanted to use this platform as an opportunity to extend our thanks to the band and to the overall Phish community for what has to be regarded as the most positive Phish tour in ages. By all accounts, those of you at the shows had nothing but glowing reviews on a nightly basis. I know for myself, hunkered down in a closet apartment in Osan, South Korea, this tour could not have sounded any better.

I’m absolutely honored that James asked me to be a part of this project, and I can’t wait to work with him in the future!

Hope everyone enjoys the piece! Please feel free to share your thoughts, comments, criticisms, and rants in either the comment section or @sufferingjuke and @jameskam17.

*Note: For each section our favorite show/set/jam/song is in bold.

——–

Opener Of The Year

Llama: Holmdel, NJ – 07/10/2013

First Tube: Columbia, MD – 07/13/2013

Prince Caspian: Chicago, IL – 07/20/2013

Dinner and a Movie: Chicago, IL – 07/21/2013

Architect: George, WA – 07/27/2013

Honorable Mention: Free, San Francisco, CA – 08/02/2013

In 2012 Phish entered their summer tour with the stated goal of playing 200 unique songs. Impacting their setlists with unexpected diversity on a consistent level like no time previously in their history, the 200-song-challenge affected all aspects of their shows, most notably the opener slot. From 06/07’s Buried Alive, 06/15’s My Sweet One, 07/03’s Skin It Back, 09/01’s Antelope, and 12/31’s Garden Party, the opener became an entity all to its own throughout 2012. Here in 2013 however, the focus moved away from the number of songs the band would play (their rotation was perhaps their tightest since 1997) to, now the quality of play, and the overall craftsmanship of setlists. As a result, the openers were less a separate moment removed from the overall show, and rather an immediate insight into the night’s flow, and the band’s mood.

Each of the above songs we felt best introduced their shows – from the frenetic rage of Llama and First Tube, to the gimmicky charm of Caspian and Dinner & A Movie, to SF’s Free that summed up the entire communities sentiments following the Tahoe Tweezer, while at the same time setting an overall thematic tone for the BGCA run that fits perfectly on re-listen.

And yet, while each of the above songs certainly sent a jolt of energy and adrenaline into their respective shows, no song better captured the setting, mood, nor indescribable bigness of Phish, than Architect did on 07/27/2013. Ushering in the show under a hushed tone, the song – with lyrics like: “it turned out better/so much better/than we ever did expect,” and “there might be more to this than we all know” – allowed everyone a pause to remember just how special and unique this whole Phish thing is.

Regardless of jam lengths, regardless of song selections, at the end of the day, the fact that Phish has created this living, breathing, evolving, fully healthy, totally redeemed entity, which has a positive impact on literally anyone who touches it, is enough in and of itself, right? Raise a glass to the architect…

Top New Song

Yarmouth Road

Energy

Say Something

Architect

Frost

In the Phish offseason, the most commonly heard request from fans for 2013 was not Gamehendge, but new material. Everyone, including me have been craving for some new Phish jams. Trey said a new album was in the works and when news broke the community went crazy. We heard the band was working collectively on the album. I mention this because this year, we did get some new tunes, but none were written collectively from the band.

After a tour opener in Bangor with no new songs, the band changed gears the next show with a Phish debut in the first set and the second set. We got Yarmouth Road, a real funky reggae song from Mike and Energy, an instant classic Phish cover from The Apples in Stereo. Yarmouth brought some great vibes to the first set and settled in comfortably for the tour. Energy kicked off the second set in thrilling fashion and just improved each and every time, getting more and more exploratory, tighter and unique with each play. Say Something and Frost were each played once, the former another Mike song that I absolutely love from the Gorge and Frost, a Trey tune played in Alpharetta.

While each song was unique and special in its own way, Energy was the clear highlight of all the new songs. It kick started one of the best sets of the tour at SPAC and was just a consistent thrill to hear. Only played four times, Energy started with a ton of potential that SPAC night, shifted to a nice meaty exploratory groove in Alpharetta after Water in the Sky, opened up another classic set in Chicago with Ghost->Lizards, Harpua > Antelope and opened the final set at Bill Graham, a peak and symbol of the true development of Energy. Energy is here to stay and is a perfect Phish song with nice lyrics, good harmonies and rocking chords. There’s room for everything and anything with this song and anything is possible. It’s just the beginning for this tune, and the other classics from the summer.

Top First Set Jam

Tube: Saratoga, NY – 07/06/2013

Split Open and Melt: Saratoga, NY – 07/06/2013

Stash: Columbia, MD – 07/14/2013

It’s Ice: Columbia, MD – 07/14/2013

Reba: San Francisco, CA – 08/02/2013

Honorable Mention: Cities->David Bowie: Saratoga, NY 07/05/2013

The fact that there’s even a category for first set jams in this collection of thoughts says more about the state of Phish in 2013 than perhaps anything else. Proof that the band felt a comfort with their songs, and a willingness to expand upon them from the onset of the tour, these six jams display the peak period we currently find ourselves in here in Phish’s 30th year.

Centered around two first set’s in particular – 07/06 and 07/14 – throughout the summer, even when the band wasn’t expanding upon their first set selections with exploratory zeal, they were still attacking them with a newfound creativity and energy than we’d seen in over a decade. Just check out the 07/07 Maze, 07/12 Cars Trucks Buses, 07/14 Scent Of A Mule, 07/26 AC/DC Bag, Timber, Funky Bitch, and Tube, 07/27 Ocelot, and the 08/02 Vultures, Sand, and Roggae, for some noteworthy moments.

In the above jams – each of which displayed a willingness to expand with ease within the rather strict confines of the 2013 first set – the band alternated between funk clinics in Tube and It’s Ice, ambient soundscapes in SOAM, Stash and Cities -> Bowie, and the idealized conception of Reba on the first night of the San Francisco run. In the end, the ethereal – and grossly surprising – jam that emerged from Split Open & Melt to close out the first set of 07/06 reigns supreme here in 2013. A moment where the band simply stopped trying to push their oft-tormented classic, and instead, yielded to the larger forces at play, the result was nothing short of sublime.

A representative jam for the year, the 07/06 Split Open & Melt displays the unyielding opportunities available to the band as they continue to explore untapped musical territory in Set I.

Unlike any year in recent memory, 2013 was symbolic for many things, one the return of epic and slick segues on a nightly basis! In Saratoga all of set two segued flawlessly between songs, specifically 46 Days-> Steam and Light->The Mango Song and the segues never stopped. Think about Cities->David Bowie from that show in addition to so many more from the run. Merriweather had a fantastic segue from the rocking Light to the funk fest in Boogie On and continued down south with the now famous Heartbreaker set. One of my personal favorite segues all summer happened from Theme from the Bottom to Weekapaug in a classic set two of three sets on Saturday in Chicago. On Saturday night at the Gorge set two was dripping with seamless segues, specifically the gorgeous Down with Disease->Undermind that so many people rave about constantly. But there was one segue that was a personal favorite for it’s tenacity and ultimate rock and roll peak — the Jones Beach Tweezer->Cities->The Wedge.

One of the most brutal shows to endure for any fan, Jones Beach was met with heavy winds and insane rain. The second set started with 20 minute Rock & Roll->2001, another shining highlight of the tour before the band headed right into Tweezer. Around 11:15 into Tweezer Trey starts repeating these light chords, shifting the direction of the jam. Page picks up on this and plays right along with him. Trey changes to a three chord progression that is the stuff of holy gods on top of Page’s now classic melody. Fishman totally locks in on the most intense Wedge groove as Trey continues to rocks these classic chords that EVERYONE should have branded into their brains. Trey keeps it going as he moves the band right into Cities. The jam continues in Cities is the stuff of bass, bliss and bad ass plinko-jazz infused funk. Trey plays these descending chords before fast play of something that sounds like a mind left body jam while Fishman builds faster. Trey then starts playing the Wedge main riff as the band seamlessly segues right into the beat Fish started a song earlier.

This stuff is perfect Phish. This stuff is what we come night after night after night to see. Thank you Phish.

Resurrection Jam

David Bowie (Note: 07/05, 07/12, 07/20, 07/26)

Scent of a Mule (Note: 07/14, 07/19, 08/05)

Split Open and Melt (Note: 07/06, 07/26)

Harry Hood (Note: 07/03, 07/10, 07/13, 07/26, 08/05)

Tahoe Tweezer

Honorable Mention: Mike’s Song (Note: 07/03, 07/13)

One of the enduring themes of 2013 has been the veritable resurrection of many of Phish’s most time-honored classics. Songs like David Bowie, Harry Hood, Run Like An Antelope, Slave To The Traffic Light, and even Mike’s Song – songs which had grown stale, even predictable in recent years – were suddenly presented with a new-found energy. Think of the melodic and chromatic territory the 07/05 David Bowie and the 07/03 Run Like An Antelope reached in the earliest nights of tour. Listen to the commitment to exploration in the 07/06 Split Open & Melt. Feel the fervent fire being birthed in the 07/03 and 07/13 Mike’s Song. Check out how Scent Of A Mule re-emerged as a beacon of creativity in each of its performances.

Each of the above songs – which for so long, had been played seemingly just because they had to be, simply because they were the band’s classics – here in 2013 have been resurrected as show-stopping, and tour-enforcing highlights.

Perhaps this approach is heard best in two songs: the Tahoe Tweezer, and in each Harry Hood played throughout the tour. Played as the lone encore on Bangor’s opening night, Harry Hood was re-approached with creativity, delicate exploration, and refined passion, peaking in two separate performances on 07/13 – when it sounded plucked right out of the mid-90’s – and on the tour finale in Hollywood, when it engaged on a 22min voyage that still has the community shaken.

The former, a 37min free-form jam – the longest jam since the 08/03/2003 46 Days, and the 8th longest jam of the band’s career – represented a peak in the band’s new-found approach to jamming. Focusing on harmonic freedom, which has defined their best jamming of 3.0 – ultimately peaking at Dick’s last year, and then all throughout this summer – the band wove numerous musical passages, culminating in a full-on band & audience impromptu segment of emotional jamming, surrounding a series of start/stop’s and woo’s.

A clear sign of the peak experience the band has had throughout 2013 thus far, these resurrected performances display a band once again at the top of their game.

Top Encore

Bangor 07/03: Harry Hood

The Gorge 07/26: Harry Hood, Fire

Lake Tahoe 07/30: Weekapaug Groove, Character Zero

San Francisco 08/02: Walls of the Cave

San Francisco 08/02: Sanity, Bold as Love

Honorable Mention: Alpharetta 07/17: Quinn the Eskimo

This year the encore was a little different than in past years. While there wasn’t much of a variety, each encore provided a little something to each show. Bangor’s Harry Hood was a perfect encore for the first show of the tour. A classic Phish song, not to mention that it was played perfectly (and was a foreshadower for it’s dominant summer), Bangor’s Hood was the right way to end night 1 and move us from the jitters of a tour opener into the actual tour.

Lake Tahoe’s Weekapaug and Zero were both great for a few reasons. First, Weekapaug continuing the groove from end of the show to encore is BEYOND BAD ASS. Second, Zero was pretty much the symbol for a stellar show all summer. This encore continued high energy and led us into night two of Tahoe with a lot of momentum and energy. San Francisco’s encore on night one and night three were both great. Night one had Walls of the Cave, a nice 2.0 surprise after the Seven Below highlight in set two. A one song encore allowed for a nice meaty jam and some explosive energy. The Sanity and Bold as Love allowed for two tour debuts in one encore, with Sanity being one of the highlights of the whole run. Boom! Pow! Talk about an encore! An amazing Sanity after one of the finer sets of the entire tour then some Hendrix! Man do I love this band.

The best encore happened on night one at the Gorge. After a stunning Character Zero with the band howling at the moon, the boys came out for another round of Harry Hood, another fantastic version, and Hendrix! This encore was the most fitting especially after the masterpiece set two that the boys played right beforehand. Harry Hood, whether set two or encore, was a monster in 2013, something we’ll touch upon later on.

Surprise Gem

It’s Ice

Scent of a Mule

Steam

Split Open and Melt

Walls of the Cave

Honorable Mention: The Mango Song

Along with the resurrected jams that dotted the band’s 2013 Summer Tour are the surprise gems that kept everyone’s ears perked, and made essentially every single show a must hear. From the aforementioned Scent Of A Mule and Split Open & Melt, to the fully-realized Steam jam, the choicely placed – and expansively attacked – Mango Song, and the 2.0 survivalist Walls Of The Cave, each of the above songs helped to shape the summer through their consistent dedication to creativity.

And yet, for as engaging, and even as surprising as each of the above songs performances throughout summer were, nothing could compare to the shock that reverberated throughout the fanbase when Phish dropped into a thick funk-jam right in the middle of Merriweather Post’s It’s Ice. A defining moment in the second week of tour, It’s Ice was one of many songs that helped to shape the early tour peak that stretched from Holmdel, NJ to Columbia, MD.

A group of song’s that felt uncertain of their direction, if not wholly lost altogether, this summer each was featured in a way that far exceeded anything the band had tried to do with them for at least the past ten years.

Top First Set

Saratoga, NY: 07/07/2013

Columbia, MD: 07/14/2013

George, WA: 07/26/2013

George, WA: 07/27/2013

San Francisco, CA: 08/02/2013

Honorable Mention: Saratoga, NY: 07/06/2013

Last year in the quest for 200 songs, first sets were a chance for Phish to play old favorites, one-timers and classic bust outs. Think of Riverbend, Noblesville, and Jones Beach. But in 2013, first sets were different. With a much tighter rotation there was more room to focus on tighter sounding jams and sets crafted with impeccable flow. Sunday night at SPAC just felt like there was a greater force building this beautifully crafted set. Starting with AC/DC Bag, heading into a monster Back on the Train, the lightning Divided Sky then classics in Free, It’s Ice, Mound, Maze and Limb By Limb, ending with a rocking set closing Walls of the Cave. This set just felt right. It flowed perfectly and each song was fantastic. There is nothing better than good music and good flow. And the next Sunday the consistency continued. Never miss a Sunday show.

The second Sunday show of tour went down at the Merriweather Post Pavilion. Opening with an amazing First Tube, right into the funk of the Moma Dance before a fun trio of NICU, Roses are Free and Chalk Dust Torture, Merriweather had high moments from the start and never once had a downer. True highlights in a dark and dangerous Stash proceeded an exploratory Scent of a Mule before my personal favorite, a Phish Destroys America funk fest in It’s Ice! Talk about a first set. Then a nod to the ‘97 funk with Tube before a closing Antelope. Another amazing first set!

Both nights at the Gorge had stunners in the first set, with Friday starting off in classic fashion with AC/DC Bag, the tour debut of Timber and a fantastic Wolfman’s Brother before Funky Bitch, Happy Birthday, the “Russell Wilson” Wilson, Possum and Tube. Secret Smile made a huge return before another tour debut, the elusive McGrupp! Another tour debut Curtis Lowe came for some blues before another set closing Melt! The next night started off in another amazing fashion – Architect, Golgi, Curtain With. The set was upbeat and fun with the Phish debut of Say Something, one of my favorite songs of the summer, and an After Midnight set closer in remembrance of J.J. Cale.

Everyone knows what happened after The Gorge. Tahoe. The Tweezer. 40 minutes of glory. The question on everyone’s mind in line waiting to get in at Bill Graham was how could Phish “top” it? What’s next? There was only one thing Phish could do. They changed the conversation. They played the most fantastic first set of all tour. The Tahoe Tweezer will live forever, and this set proves it. Starting with Free, an ode to the “feeling we all forgot” that exists in the magic of 30+ min jams, before never having a single down moment. The tour debuts of Meat and Oh Kee Pa Ceremony came next before a perfect AC/DC Bag to really get the show on the road. Talk about a four song intro! Next came the tour debut of Vultures which truly resurrected the energy of Tahoe’s Tweezer with the first of MANY batches of woos!! throughout the run.

The tour debut of Roggae was next and it was absolutely magnificent. The fun continued with a funk fest in Sand and a nicely placed When the Circus Comes to Town, a great song symbolizing tour. Another tour debut with Babylon Baby came before Reba!!! A song that has huge jam potential came after a gorgeous Reba, Page’s Halfway to the Moon before a classic Phish set closer – Golgi.

This first set of the San Francisco run was constructed with magic. The set was perfect to move on from the greatness and holiness that is the Tahoe Tweezer. This set was truly so damn good, with perfect debuts, perfect flow and amazing play in each and every song. It’s no exaggeration, and that’s why this set gets the award for top first set of tour.

Derek Jeter Award

Back on the Train: Saratoga, NY – 07/07/2013

Timber: George, WA – 07/26/2013

Golgi Apparatus: George, WA – 07/27/2013

Meat: San Francisco, CA – 08/02/2013

Divided Sky: San Francisco, CA – 08/04/2013

Honorable Mention: Wolfman’s Brother: Holmdel, NJ – 07/10/2013

Ahhh, the second song of the show. One of those slots that’s often overlooked in its distinct ability to affect the overall flow, energy, and direction of the show, here in 2013, it constantly seemed as though the band fully understood the power and importance of the Jeter slot.

On 07/07, the band followed up a sharp AC/DC Bag with a dense and intricate take on Back On The Train. Three weeks later they again followed and AC/DC Bag opener at the start of their weekend at The Gorge, though this time with a torrid Timber. In Holmdel, following a cancelled show in Toronto the night before, Phish kicked off one of the best shows of the entire tour with a blistering Llama followed by a loose, funky, yet still raging Wolfman’s Brother. During the tour’s final weekend, the band treated their fans to two classics on 08/02 and 08/04, using the second song of each show – Meat & Divided Sky – to key fans into the overall energy the band was messing with by tour’s end.

And yet, it was on the second night of The Gorge, when, after opening the show with their most contemplative, emotive, and sublime opener of the summer, that the band worked to sculpt one of their best shows of the tour, by infusing their age-old classic Golgi Apparatus into the show’s second slot. A song that has always seemingly fit best as a set closer, the placement reminded many of the NICU>Golgi>Crossroads trifecta that opened the hallowed 12/29/1997 show. Perfectly placed, expertly played, that they followed it up with the lone Curtain With of the summer just showed what kind of magic the band was wielding here in the summer of 2013.

Best Poster

BGCA

Hollywood

Alpharetta

The Gorge

Lake Tahoe

Honorable Mention: Jones Beach

Posters were a hot commodity as always this summer, and the posters were absolutely spectacular at each run. It’s hard to say which one is the best, because in all honesty, each and every one of them is special and unique to the venue while looking incredibly bad ass. I narrowed down my 6 favorites: San Francisco, Alpharetta, The Gorge, Jones Beach, Lake Tahoe and Hollywood. Jones Beach is the poster with an astronaut in the middle, surrounded by eyes blossoming from the slime below. Alpharetta’s dual set is perfect for representing the south. A beautiful landscape of friends swimming in a lake, playing on a rope swing. The silhouette of the children and grass with the bright colors of the sky reflect hot summer days in the south.

Heading out west, Phish had beautiful poster after beautiful poster. The Gorge, like Alpharetta, is a duel set with a wolf and goat looking at the lochness monster, swimming in the sea, another perfect poster for the venue. The posters kept getting better and better, with Tahoe’s an image of Tahoe Tessie rising on a full moon from the Lake and San Francisco’s three posters represent the psychedelia that is San Francisco. Night one is a pelican, night two is a butterfly with guitars and a keyboard and the third is a fox with drums. The colors are magnificent, blue and red and each are uniquely special.

However, Hollywood’s poster is clearly the best. Not only is it huge (20×30), but it’s a split perspective of the same image, one from the sky, one from below the waters. On the left there is a boy and a girl sitting high above the water in a patch of flowers, watching sailboats below and fireworks in the distance. On the right side is the image from below the water, with sharks swimming towards a light, deep below the sailboats, next to scuba divers. It’s really a fantastic poster and I’m thankful to have got a copy. Point is, all the posters are beautiful! Wonderful job from all the artists! Thank you!

Most Unexpected Part Of Tour

The Rain

Harpua

The Tight Rotation of Songs

The end of mkdevo

3 Set Show at Chicago

Honorable Mention: Hollywood Harry Hood a.k.a. HollyHOOD

Summer 2013 was a unique tour for Phish for a plethora of reasons. There were a lot of unexpected surprises, some good, some bad, but all having an effect on the tour in one way or another. The biggest may be what happened to @mkdevo and all of his videos. For all of 3.0, if there was a song you wanted to check out and watch, everyone knew look no further than mkdevo. If you missed a show, no problem, you could watch it practically through his videos. The videos were arguably Phish’s greatest marketing tool as they were free and they exposed Phish to a generation of fans who never knew of the band before 2009. It’s definitely been a different tour with little to none visual footage as there has been in years past.

Another big surprise was the Harry Hood from Hollywood, otherwise known as HollyHood. The last show of a 4 night stand between San Fran->Los Angeles, Hollywood was characterized by no new songs and lots of great, but typical, Phish excellence. All of the sudden, out of nowhere in the second set though comes this beauty. This magnificent mother of god Harry Hood that is instantly an all-timer. The song that started it all off in Bangor and never let down throughout the tour peaked in full capacity that Monday night, and that was a huge unexpected gift.

It’s been said a bunch already, but 2012 and 2013 were very different. The chase for 200 songs changed the dynamic of the tour in 2012 and therefore 2013 not only had a much tighter rotation, but it truly felt like a tighter rotation. It made for interesting sets. There was plenty of variety among each jam and development and improvement with each play. The juxtaposition between the two summer tours was evident and unexpected.

But by far, the most unexpected part of the tour was the rain. Without the rain you don’t get the Chicago run – Friday’s cancellation, Saturday’s three set speciality, and Sunday’s Harpua. The rain was EASILY the biggest factor throughout the east coast, all the way through Chicago, with everyone jokingly calling it Phish Pours America and Phish Summer Pour 2013. Every night there seemed to be a storm or threats of storms, starting with SPAC having delays and thunderstorms. Jones Beach’s show was caught in the middle of the worst storm of the summer on Long Island, with the wind whipping people in the face and the rain pounding on all of us from above.

The rain didn’t stop though, it just continued, down to Merriweather and Atlanta, before finally “peaking” in Chicago. When the show on Friday was cut short, the band was truly devastated, and rewarded us with three sets on Saturday. But when Sunday came and the first set was cut during Antelope, you could really tell how frustrated and annoyed the band was, especially Trey and Page. The rain was just a constant deterrent, but both the band and the fans NEVER let it get in the way. I’ll always remember this tour for the rain as will many, as the rain truly gave life to each and every show in a different, unique way.

Show Of The Tour

Holmdel, NJ – 07/10/2013

Columbia, MD – 07/14/2013

Chicago, IL – 07/21/2013

George, WA – 07/26/2013

George, WA – 07/27/2013

San Francisco, CA – 08/02/2013

San Francisco, CA – 08/04/2013

Honorable Mention: Saratoga, NY – 07/07/2013

The thing about this 2013 Summer Tour is that there really wasn’t a single bad show played. Seriously, you could throw any of these shows on and find numerous moments of full-band-connectivity. Even on their safest nights – 07/03 and 07/05 – even on the cancelled mess of 07/19, even when they came out with a song-based/energy affair on the second night of BGCA, each of these shows are still worth your time and your ears. Each display a Phish at the top of their game, attacking their shows no matter the style.

And yet, for however strong as the tour is as a complete entity, their peak shows are simply based on an even higher level of musical connectivity, advanced experimentation, and evolutionary progression. From 07/10 and 07/14’s dedication to the band’s classics, representing an early peak for the tour, while displaying Phish’s desire to jam as a unified force, to 07/21’s show that – like the above jam segment – absolutely HAD to happen, to the string of shows at the Gorge on 07/26 and 07/27 that display the most consistent peak for the band in 2013, to the first and third night of SF that combined rarities and segues on 08/02, and a second set for the ages on 08/04, there’s just simply SO MUCH music we have to listen to from Phish moving forward. And, one cannot forget to mention the initial high-point of the tour – a show rightly praised when it happened, yet overshadowed now as the tour has unfolded – 07/07.

We’ve truly been blessed throughout the entirety of this 2013 Summer Tour. The thought of the band continuing to build upon this at Dick’s and in the Fall is simply mind-boggling.

Thankful is simply not enough.

Top Run

Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, New York: 3 Nights

Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, Maryland: 2 Nights

The Gorge, George, Washington: 2 Nights

Lake Tahoe, Stateline, Nevada: 2 Nights

Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, California: 3 Nights

Top run? How can one even decide…Between the magnificence and glory at Phish’s real life Gamehendge, Saratoga Springs, through the tri state area in New Jersey and Jones Beach, and the weekend run at Merriweather, almost every run was unique and special, loaded with stunning moments and overflowing with highlights.

Lake Tahoe had great shows and the most special moment, Tweezer, and Bill Graham was the RIGHT way to end the tour, in the place where the birth of the counter culture happened. But one run stands above the rest — The Gorge. Like Phish’s last trip to the legendary venue, this weekend stand boasted complete shows filled with sick segues, exploratory jams and fantastic first and second sets. Night one at the Gorge had a AC/DC Bag, Timber, Wolfman’s Opener with a closing trio of McGrupp, Curtis Lowe and Melt. The first set was stunning as was the second set, which had an 18 minute Crosseyed and Painless, followed by Twist, Steam, Waves and a jam that has WAY TOO MUCH POTENTIAL, Twenty Years Later. Mango, Bug and Bowie!!! rounded the end, before a symbolic Rocky Top, signifying the awesome set, and then the moon howling Character Zero.

The next night opened with a gorgeous Architect, the first Golgi of tour and then the first Curtain With of tour! After that came more great songs with Moma, Maze and the new debut, Say Something, a song I love. After Midnight ended the set with a tribute for J.J. Cale and kept the energy at an all-time high. The second set was even better! The famous Down with Disease->Undermind to start things off before another amazing highlight, Light->Sneaking Sally. A spacey and funky 2001 was nicely placed before a perfect ending trio – Walls of the Cave, Fluffhead and Run Like an Antelope. Talk about a two night stand.

There are a few rules of Phish. Never miss a Sunday show. If you have the ability to go to a show, you go. Never miss Dick’s, and of course, Never miss The Gorge.

For much of 2009 – 2012, no matter what musical leaps forward were made, Phish continually struggled with conceiving fully-flowing sets. While yes, there are exceptions – 08/07/2009 II, 06/27/2010 II, 10/16/2010 II, 05/28/2011 II, 07/03/2011 I, 08/15/2011 II, 08/19/2012 II, and 12/30/2012 II immediately come to mind – the start-to-finish thematic flow of a set – particularly a Set II – was one of the missing links that marked any conversation about where exactly Phish was in their climb back up their veritable mountain.

As with much of their music, all this changed in 2013.

On the second show of tour to be exact.

Crafting a fluid, flowing, and thematically unyielding set on the first night of their three-night SPAC run, the band ushered in a tour full of relentless sets that stack up with some of the most complete sets of their entire career. These sets are SO good that the thought of ranking them/choosing a singular one that’s better than the others seems preposterous. Almost like an insult.

07/05 showed us immediately what was possible here in 2013. 07/10 displayed the lengths the band was prepared to go to craft improvisational brilliance, while also letting their hair down and proving that party/rock sets don’t necessarily mean a loss in flow. 07/12 felt plucked right out of 1998. 07/21 HAD to happen right then and there; phearless’d. 07/26 both built upon 07/10’s theme, but used down-tempo rarities, along with a deranged moon-chant in the often-predictable Zero to allow the band an entrance into an alternate dimension. 07/27 is definition of ‘perfection’ in my mind: jams, flow, energy, rock, classics. 08/04 capped off a tour full of highlights with expansive jams, a nod to the bands ever-present gimmickry, and an ode to the theme of Phish 2013: ENERGY.

While we’ve selected 07/27 as the singular set that best defines the peak we’ve all just experienced here in Phish 2013, the reality is any number of those sets could fill that slot. There’s a reason SO many were SO floored after 07/05 after all…

There’s simply no other option in this category than the 07/31/2013 Tweezer from Tahoe. A 37-minute masterpiece that saw Phish craft an unending jam, displaying both a willingness to expand upon the subtlest of musical cues, and a desire to push their music out as far as possible, that the song resulted in one of the most stunning peaks of the band’s career is almost icing on the cake. And yet, the peak itself resulted in an impromptu band/audience moment of connection only possible in the purest forms of live music, representing a unified sense of elation between band and audience alike. Just listen to the way Trey absolutely tears into his riff following the first – and most spontaneous – set of woo’s from the crowd. There simply hasn’t been a jam in all of 3.0 that can compare with the exploratory zeal, communicative transcendence, nor unified band/audience moment quite like the Tahoe Tweezer.

As for the rest on this list? Each would unquestionably be a top jam in any other year in 3.0.

07/06’s Carini that changed on a dime numerous times, as the band tore through gorgeous melodic passages before landing in the debut of Architect.

The first Crosseyed of the year which saw Trey reach an early peak through his experimentations with this rhythmic and melodic jamming.

The Jones Beach Rock & Roll -> 2001> Tweezer -> Cities -> The Wedge segment that felt plucked right out of 1998, and more than made up for the torrential weather in Set I.

At Merriweather Post the band dropped a sharp and rhythmic Light, which tore through various segments of start/stop jamming, fused with heavy and distorted rock, before segueing perfectly into Boogie On Reggae Woman.

Reaching a mid-tour peak with the Energy -> Ghost -> The Lizards segment in Chicago, a jam that absolutely HAD to happen, it touched on literally every jamming style the band has ever experimented with throughout their entire career in one 26min jam before moving into one of their most time honored classics.

A night later Trey led the band down a beautifully sublime path in Down With Disease, displaying the wide-open possibilities for the band as they moved westward.

On the second night of The Gorge, the band spent the first 50 minutes of their second set locked in a constantly evolving jam segment that passed through sections of funk, ambient, and bliss before peaking with a torrid Sneakin’ Sally.

Two shows after the Tahoe Tweezer, the band took Rock & Roll again on another spin, this time focusing more on the groove rather than its melody, moving it seamlessly into perhaps the best Steam of the year, in a year already full of top versions.

On one of the best shows of the summer – 08/04 – Phish opened their second set with a 27 minute segment based around their newest jam vehicle, and one of their oldest.

Finally, they took Harry Hood out far beyond the reaches of your typical Hood, crafting an often seedy, if not painstakingly gorgeous version that rivals any of the 2003 experimentations on it, and proved just how high the band was by tour’s end.

Each of these jams displayed a band simply locked in. No two ways about it. Phish was on throughout all of their summer tour. Evolutionary steps forward, momentous goals achieved, surprises galore; further proof of where things currently stand in the world of Phish.

Song MVP

Harry Hood

Energy

David Bowie

Crosseyed and Painless

Tweezer

Honorable Mention: Rock & Roll

Look up any show from the past tour where any of the above songs were played, and you’re guaranteed to hear an innovative and energized performance that served as both a show and tour highlight.

Each year of 3.0 has provided us with transcendent takes on Rock & Roll: 08/08/2009, 10/22/2010, 08/05/2011, 08/15/2012, and now, 07/12/2013 and 08/03/2012. Each wholly unique versions that displayed both the open-ended quality to the song, and the bombastic grooves that are just bursting at its seams, the song proved its lasting value in 2013 once again as one of the band’s trustiest jam vehicles.

David Bowie returned from years of seeming irrelevance to reclaim its place among the most enthralling live compositions in Phish’s catalogue. Punctuated by engaging, melodic versions on 07/05, 07/12, 07/20, and 07/26, the song proved that for however predictable and tepid it had been throughout the first three years of 3.0, there was no way the band could contain this gem forever.

Crosseyed & Painless, played only twice, was significantly stretched out on each occasion, further displaying the boundaries pushed in last summer’s transcendent 08/19 version. Offering up one of the jams of summer at PNC, it touched upon the 02/16/2003 Piper theme on its way to fully displaying the rhythmic melodic playing from Trey that was pushing the band to new heights. While it didn’t totally hook-up in the same way sixteen days later at the The Gorge, that version did represent a significant step forward in terms of Trey’s willingness and desire to push their jams deep into the unknown, something which would lead to a landmark jam some five nights later…

The lone cover debut of summer, Energy fit Phish’s rotation with stunning ease, expanding over four transcendent versions to become the new go-to jam for the band. With lyrics that speak directly to Phish’s overall message, a melody that just screams White Album-era Beatles, and an open-ended quality that caters directly to expansion, and it’s no wonder the song has stuck. Just listen to how much the song grew from its 07/05 debut, to its 07/17 performance that allowed it its first opportunity to wander, to its two peak performances thus far on 07/21 and 08/04. Anyone who doesn’t think this is opening one of the second sets at Dick’s is crazy.

Even if the four Tweezers that preceded the 07/31 version had been complete duds, the song was still bound to make this list for the sheer impact its 37 minute incarnation had on the entirety of the music made this summer.

Yet, aside from the 07/06 version, each the 07/12, 07/16, and 07/22 versions are unique, thematic, and are featured in choice segues midway through their respective sets. Still, nothing compares to the masterful jam that kicked off the final set in Tahoe. A musical peak for Phish in any era, it cemented 2013 as yet another Tweezer-strong year, and kept up the trend within 3.0, of a sublime take on their much-loved jam vehicle, joining the likes of 12/29/2009, 12/30/2010, 09/03/2011, and 12/28/2012 before it.

And yet, for everything that’s been played in 2013 – much of which that has simply blown away a large percentage of the music the band has made throughout their already illustrious career – it all comes back to one Harry Hood. The lone encore on the tour opener in Bangor, literally every single version played – 07/10, 07/13, 07/20, 07/26, 08/02, and the monumental 08/05 – is a veritable tour highlight. In much the same way that David Bowie completely revitalized itself here in 2013, so did Mr. Hood, and then some. Peaking in the first half of the tour with old-school takes on 07/03 and 07/13 in particular, out west the song opened itself up to a certain degree on 07/26, before completely rewriting the rulebook on Hood some three songs before the tour’s conclusion. One of the jams of summer, the Hollywood Harry Hood displayed the untapped potential of the song as a jam vehicle, exposing yet another layer in Phish’s continuously unveiling musical amalgamation.

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Once again, many thanks to James for asking me to be a part of this piece! So glad to be able to share our thoughts on Phish in such a way! We can’t wait to see what Phish has planned for us at Dick’s!